Debate me: The best part of the NBA season is that one week of the offseason.
There’s a sweet spot in every offseason that is filled with news, trades and many, many rumors. Those two to three days leading up to the draft until a week into free agency is peak NBA fandom.
This summer we saw it a lot, too. Trade-wise, Dejounte Murray is a Pelican, Mikal Bridges is a Knick, and DeMar DeRozan is a King. Free agency was loaded with Paul George heading to Philly, and the Mavs adding Klay Thompson, among other big moves.
But we’ve now entered the driest time in the NBA calendar— the rest of the offseason.
Sure, we’ll have minor deals here and there and Summer League gives us something in July, but it can get boring.
The WNBA fills the empty gap of the NBA calendar very nicely — especially recently — but the NBA can still capitalize massively during its offseason. Many fans, especially in the West, are typically off work or school and have as much free time as needed. NBA players have had to quench the thirst of playing professionally over the summer by hopping in Pro-Am runs or by pulling up to street parks.
But, for the league, this is their golden opportunity to make more money in the off-season, when they could have more opportunities to pull in fans with their free time over the long, enduring summer.
Finally, should the league ever shorten the season — which would likely increase the summertime offseason — it would provide a longer opportunity for these events. Besides the WNBA, baseball is the only other big sport on during the summer. The NBA truly has a chance during this time to go all in and make some big bucks for fans waiting for the new season to start.
So, today, I present to you a genius idea— the basketball pay-per-view.
The 1995 NBA Finals Showdown
Let’s start by swinging it back almost thirty years to a great year, the 1995 NBA season.
The league looks a lot different than the typical 1990s league looked as the Bulls had a rusty MJ, who showed up just in time for the playoffs but couldn’t get it done. Who took him down? A goofy but competitive 23-year-old kid named Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaq is Shaq to put it simply— he’s flashy and loud but a bully down low. The seven-foot-two beast is the head of a young and fast-paced Magic team, which includes All-Star Penny Hardaway and role players like Dennis Scott, Nick Anderson and Horace Grant. The Magic finished on top of the East as O’Neal came close to an MVP in just his third year. The Magic dismantled an underdeveloped Celtics core, took down MJ and the Bulls in six, and barely edged out a tough seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers.
On the flip side is the Houston Rockets. Houston won the 1994 NBA Championship behind one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history, by quiet-natured but dominant big Hakeem Olajuwon. The Rockets led a perimeter-based team to overtop Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks.
Behind Olajuwon were key shooters like Kenny Smith, Robert Horry and Vernon Maxwell. But as the team opened the 1994-95 season on an inconsistent note, they made a splash move at the deadline to acquire aging All-Star guard Clyde Drexler. This paid off majorly as a sixth-seeded Rockets squad eliminated John Stockton and Karl Malone‘s Jazz, narrowly escaped Charles Barkley‘s Suns in six, and finished it off by taking down the MVP David Robinson and the Spurs in six.
The Final Series
It was now time for the showdown everyone had been waiting for— Shaq vs. Hakeem.
The first game was a blood bath as Houston barely pulled it out 120-118 in OT. Nick Anderson missed four game-sealing free throws at the end of regulation as Kenny Smith drilled a clutch three to tie the ball game and send it to extras.
Game 2 was a 117-106 victory for the Rockets, while they also barely snuck by with a W in Game 3, winning 106-103. And to wrap up the Finals, Hakeem and the Rockets snagged Game 4, completing the sweep and giving Hakeem his second ring.
While most Magic players were disappointed about the loss, Shaq wasn’t, vowing vengeance. Shaq averaged 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.5 blocks in the four-game series while Hakeem put up 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.
Shaq’s ego didn’t accept the fact of defeat, so he knew it wasn’t over yet between him and Hakeem. The best way to get back at him? The ultimate decider— a 1-on-1 game.
The OG Concept
A month after the NBA Finals, a Taco Bell commercial aired that swept basketball fans off their feet.
A 10-round match dubbed “The War On The Floor” between O’Neal and Olajuwon with a grand prize of $1,000,000. Many didn’t believe the campaign at first, but it was eventually confirmed and a date was set for September 30th, 1995, as the final competition to determine who was truly the better big. The NBA world was hyped, as the once-in-a-lifetime event would be coming to fruition.
Just like a regular fight night, there were undercards too such as 1995 draftees, Joe Smith (#1 pick) facing Kevin Garnett (#5 pick) and All-Star guards Kenny Anderson and Nick Van Exel battling it out. There were loads of rules, including six-point lines and twelve-second shot clocks, but would finally grant us an answer to the debate of the summer.
As the day fast approached, fans were ecstatic but it all came crashing down just 24 hours before the event, as Hakeem Olajuwon cancelled the event, citing his sore sacroiliac as the reason from his weight-lifting. Taco Bell went searching, reaching out to David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning and even Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb, but nothing came to fruition as the event was ultimately cancelled.
The 2024 Rendition
This now brings us to today, the NBA filled with ego, beef and drama.
So hear me out, why not schedule a basketball pay-per-view to fully settle these debates? I propose that on the first weekend of every August, the NBA schedules an event like this to bring NBA fans in leading up to training camp.
The league could place the games in basketball-needy places like Seattle or Las Vegas, raking in double the ticket revenue from the location chosen alone. It would also finally give us a definitive answer on whether player A is better than player B. In today’s social media, debates online would give us tons of opportunities of rivalries to select from.
So finally, here’s what my mock PPV event would look like:
The NBA Tournament of A Lifetime
Name: The Ultimate NBA Player Tournament
Where and When: Las Vegas, MGM Arena. September 3rd and 4th from 8 PM EST to 11:30 PM EST, both nights.
It would be a 16-game event over both nights, with each round having three games. The shot clock is 12 seconds and a four-point line is added for fun. Each game goes to 15, meaning a total of 30 points needs to be scored to win. The arena would be semi-blocked off so that it doesn’t become a replica of the iconic Raptors in the SkyDome experiment.
It might be triple the size of the crowd at LeBron James‘ The Decision event. The league should be as creative as possible in letting fans decide a lot of the matchups. After all, this event is based on them.
Here are my picks for the games:
Day 1
- Best Of The Draft, Match 1: Zaccharie Risacher vs. Alexandre Sarr, 8:00 PM EST
- Battle Of The Bigs, Match 2: Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic, 8:30 PM EST
- Defense Demolition Derby, Match 3: Jaden McDaniels and Alex Caruso vs. Herbert Jones and Marcus Smart, 9:00 PM EST
- The Young Superstar Debate, Match 4: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Anthony Edwards, 9:30 PM EST
- Over Hated, but not Overrated, Match 5: Trae Young vs. LaMelo Ball, 10:00 PM EST
- Dynamic Duos, Match 6: Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. vs. Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, 10:30 PM EST
- Switch Of The Summer, Match 7: DeMar DeRozan vs. Mikal Bridges, 11:00 PM EST
- The King vs. Durantula, Match 8: LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant, 11:30 PM EST.
Day 2
- Best Guard Of The East, Match 1: Tyrese Haliburton vs. Jalen Brunson, 8:00 PM EST
- The Twin Showdown, Match 2: Amen Thompson vs. Ausar Thompson, 8:30 PM EST
- Dame Time vs Lockdown Holiday, Match 3: Damian Lillard vs. Jrue Holiday, 9:00 PM EST
- Superstar Showdown, Match 4: Jayson Tatum & Anthony Davis vs. Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, 9:30 PM EST
- #1 Pick Duel, Match 5: Zion Williamson vs. Paolo Banchero, 10:00 PM WST
- The Next Generation, Match 6: Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren, 10:30 PM EST
- Isolation Elites, Match 7: Kyrie Irving vs. James Harden, 11:00 PM EST
- Old School vs. New School, Match 8: Stephen Curry vs. Luka Doncic, 11:30 PM EST
Why Do It?
So, there you have it.
A full weekend with action and excitement to determine the true king of the NBA. These matchups would be so fantastic for NBA fans, finally giving us answers and insane action, with tons of unique highlights. You may be wondering why some matches seem weaker than others, and this is for retention. It’s unlikely that the NBA could get all the top players, so more filler matches are perfect as they prepare fans for some superstar games.
Despite this, two issues may arise from this. Firstly, the money-making of PPV in 2024 and secondly, what’s in it for the players.
The Issues
First is the issue of streaming the game.
With how much the NBA makes, it would be unnecessary to charge that much for this event. For the WWE, the pay-per-view is their only format for making money, so it makes sense. But for the NBA, it would be just fine to broadcast this on ESPN or NBC. If they wanted to charge for this event, it would likely be $9.95 for each day on services like Amazon or YouTube TV, but I don’t think the NBA would be as greedy to do such a thing.
Anyways, everyone would end up watching it on StreamEast somehow.
Now, the player’s side. Why even compete in this tournament when it could tarnish their legacy? Starting, there would be at least a $2,500,000 prize pool, likely sponsored by big-name companies. But it’s very reminiscent of the In-Season Tournament (or now Emirates Cup). Why even compete in a silly tournament? Regardless of the money, it’s legacy. It’s something that could affect a player’s ranking for the rest of their career. “Oh yeah, MJ had 6 rings but did he ever win the King vs. Durantula PPV match for $2,500,000?”
You can’t tell me it wouldn’t have a relatively decent impact on player rankings heading into the season. It would also be a great way for players to showcase the work they’ve put in that summer for the upcoming season. It’s not just bragging rights, but in a way to prove yourself as a player. To quiet down the critics. This would’ve done wonders for Ben Simmons in 2021.
Final Thoughts
So could this work?
From an unbiased point, yes. The league is changing and experimenting. No one could’ve expected a Play-In Tournament to be now a permanent part of the playoffs. Give it a few years and trust the process. Soon enough, fans will come crawling in every summer (the league’s off-season period) just for this unique idea.
What do you think about this? Should the league consider this? How far away are we from televised superstar talents hooping for a grand prize in the long NBA summer?
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