Why Has Adam Silver’s NBA Chosen Las Vegas for Its 1st In-Season Tournament?

Adam Silver has been the NBA Commissioner since 2014. Since taking charge, he has taken several steps in the right direction to make the game more exciting for the fans. This year, Adam Silver is introducing an in-season tournament that will tip off on November 3 and culminate on December 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But why has the NBA Commissioner chosen Las Vegas to host the inaugural in-season tournament? Let us dive deeper into Adam Silver’s genius decision.

The reason behind choosing Las Vegas

A format like the NBA in-season tournament is not new to the sports world. This has already been adopted by European Soccer in world-class leagues like the English Premier League. Such tournaments help bring more excitement to the fans when the season is running a bit dry. It also helps the league generate more revenue through more meaningful and thrilling games. Adam Silver is hoping for the same outcome with the NBA in-season tournament.

The NBA Commissioner has chosen Las Vegas to host the semi-final and final matches of the tournament. One reason for picking Las Vegas is to generate more revenue through betting. Hosting events in Las Vegas has helped sports like boxing and UFC generate a lot of extra income over the years.

As the finale of the NBA in-season tournament is a knock-out format like the March Madness tournament, the fans will be more intrigued to bet on those games. That will help the NBA attract more viewers at a time when the fans are usually more focused on the NFL.

Is Las Vegas a test run for the future?

Another huge reason for Adam Silver to choose Las Vegas as the host city for the in-season tournament could be his desire to expand the league. “We will turn to expansion once those new media deals are done,” Silver said in an interview in July.

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The Commissioner is looking for the first league expansion in two decades, and Las Vegas and Seattle are the top two cities on the list. Many players, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, have expressed their desire to get Las Vegas and Seattle their own NBA teams.

The inaugural in-season tournament could be a test run by Adam Silver to determine if there is potential in the Las Vegas market for a permanent NBA team. The in-season tournament is a fresh format for the NBA, and even the players are starting to generate interest in lifting the first-ever NBA Cup in Las Vegas. If the tournament goes the way Adam Silver expects, Las Vegas might become the permanent home of an NBA team in the future.

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