The NBA’s biggest challenge with the In-Season Tournament is getting everyone to care — players, fans, and coaches. Bones Hyland unintentionally summed up how most players NBC Sports has spoken to feel about the tournament.
The motivation for players is money — $500,000 per person to players on the winning team. Players on the eight teams that make the knockout round get a bonus.
Now the league is using the same approach with coaches, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The payout for the head coach on the winning team is $500,000, Wojnarowski reports, with assistant coaches also getting a tournament bonus. Coaches of the eight teams that make the knockout round also will get paid, according to the report.
The league’s coaching leadership met with commissioner Adam Silver in September to discuss the idea of incentivizing coaches with bonus money and the league ultimately returned with this structure, sources said. The players’ share in the tournament revenue was collectively bargained with the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA has been hopeful the in-season tournament can generate significant revenue in the next media rights deal, driving interest and viewership to buoy an increasingly staid regular season.
The general vibe around the league has been players are not opposed to the In-Season Tournament — some are genuinely excited — but for most players getting into the grind of the regular season, this is just another game. It matters the way a regular season game does. Once players reach the final eight teams, the knockout stage, where a financial incentive and mid-season trip to Las Vegas are on the line, the motivation may — and likely will — increase. However, for the group stage that starts Friday night, it’s just another game. At least this first year.
Now the coaches have motivation too, and while NBA coaches are well paid, that $500,000 — or less but still real money for coaches who make the final eight — will be a bigger boost than for star players.
