NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett got NBA commissioner Adam Silver talking recently. Getting Silver talking is not a hard thing to do — Silver is a fountain of ideas and execution — but Garnett presented an especially relaxed platform for Silver to expand on his ideas, especially about the NBA in-season tournament.
(In his post basketball life, Garnett runs a show called KG Certified, as well as starring in movies like Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler.)
The in-season tournament idea, akin to what European soccer does with the Champions League, has been around for a while — the NBA proposed it to teams back in 2019, before the world went sideways with the pandemic.
And media stories at the end of last year attested to “renewed momentum” for the idea.
Silver tells Garnett that the success of the play-in tournaments, which has expanded the field of NBA playoff eligibility, has made teams more open to other new ideas.
Silver also revealed that he’d like to award the winner of the in-season tournament, when it comes to pass, a trophy named after his predecessor, the late commissioner David Stern, whose stewardship revolutionized the NBA brand around the globe. Garnett is moved by the idea of honoring Stern, and places his hand to his chest to show support.
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