USA Today via Reuters
May 12, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) Andre Iguodala (9), guard Ryan Rollins (2) and guard Klay Thompson (11) sit on from the bench in the final minutes of the second half of game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
May 12, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) Andre Iguodala (9), guard Ryan Rollins (2) and guard Klay Thompson (11) sit on from the bench in the final minutes of the second half of game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA has made a major addition to its standard season schedule. This year, the concept of an In-Season tournament was introduced, and it has opened to mixed reactions. While some athletes and fans see the vision behind the tournament, others including Andre Iguodala are just thrashing the very idea of it.
The league’s idea behind this is to get more engagements, boost ratings, and make the NBA season an overall experience and not just playoff-focused. Recently, a 7x NBA champion discussed the concept of the In-Season tournament and had a rather skeptical opinion on it.
NBA veteran on the NBA’s newest addition
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While the NBA season is a thrilling experience, there were a few issues with the almost seven-month schedule. Primarily, the issue was attention, as the entire season largely catered to the hardcore fans. Whereas, the playoffs, which usually start around April brought in more viewers. So in order to engage the audiences, while bringing in more attention throughout the season, the NBA decided to introduce the In-Season tournament concept. This will start in early November and will conclude in December with the participation of all 30 teams. However, this concept is not as appealing to all as the league would’ve wanted.
via Imago
September 15, 2019, Los Angeles, California, U.S: Former NBA, Basketball Herren, USA star Robert Horry attends in the 2019 Major League Soccer MLS, Fussball Herren, USA match between LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City in Carson, California, September 15, 2019. MLS 2019: LA Galaxy 7:2 Sporting Kansas City – ZUMAc68_ 20190915_zaf_c68_111 Copyright: xRingoxChiux
Recently, the LA Lakers veteran Robert Horry was asked for his opinion on the Big Shot Bob podcast. Horry said that since he hasn’t played in one during his career, he can’t say much about it. However, the 7x NBA champion said that “it looks weird,” while adding that he will have to ask one of the players for their opinion on it. The podcast’s panel also discussed that the NBA is planning to compete with other sports as well, with their agenda of holding engagement throughout the season.
While Horry had a confused stance on the topic, Andre Iguodala blatantly disapproved of the tournament.
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Andre Iguodala on the In-Season tournament
The Golden State Warriors veteran recently announced his retirement from the league. Soon after retirement, he has taken up several roles, one of which is his podcast, Point Forward. On a recent episode of the podcast, Iguodala talked about the In-Season tournament. The NBA veteran thrashed the idea of the new addition by saying that this would be of little to no benefit to the players and teams. As per Iguodala, great teams have their eyes set on the prize from the beginning, so they play it like a championship-worthy season.
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He scoffed at the possibility of this new tournament having any real effect on the type of games that are played by the teams.
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