NBA All Star 1v1 Tournament? | Simon Pruitt's NBA Part Two

This is the second article in a three part series on how I would fix the entity I love more than most humans: the NBA. Today, I’ll go over my ideal format for the NBA season including a shortened schedule and brand new televised events. You can check out Part 1 of this series about the changes to basic gameplay rules here.

1. 58 Game Season

The NBA season is too long. Let’s get that out of the way. 82 games is far too long for each game to matter. Good playoff teams will often intentionally drag their feet through March and April and I don’t blame them. If you’ve already clinched playoff berth, why risk the health of your best players for games that are essentially meaningless? A 58 game season fixes that problem. Every team plays every team twice, once home, once away. In this scenario, every matchup is important which will result in better ticket revenue and TV ratings. A casual NBA fan isn’t going to tune in to a 7pm Mavericks vs Lakers regular season game. However, if the said matchup is billed as one of two times LeBron and Luka will meet all year, they’ll likely reconsider. 58 games creates an aesthetically pleasing alternative to the grueling 7 month process the NBA uses now. My 58 game season would start on Christmas Day and end on May 11th.

2. Replace Rising Stars with a Four Person 1v1 Tournament

The Rising Stars challenge is and has always been a horrible idea. I’m all for pushing new talent, but make them earn it. Rookies don’t need nor do they deserve a showcase during All Star Weekend. It’s their first year in the league, give it some time. The inclusion of the sophomores into the Rising Stars is equally stupid as Trae Young and Luka Doncic were both the Rising Stars and All Stars. Trae was the leading vote getter in the east and Luka is a legitimate MVP candidate. Those stars have risen, let them move on. Let’s replace this disaster of an event with a 1v1 tournament that’s guaranteed ratings gold. The tourney will take place in one night, first to 16 with both players mic’d up on a 30 second delay. As far as the participants, the league has their work cut out for them. Russell Westbrook vs Damian Lillard will be everyone’s obvious first choice. If my idea was implemented during the 2020 season, this pairing would’ve been coming off of the franchise-destroying 32 footer that Lillard hit over Paul George which effectively ended Westbrook’s tenure with the Thunder. I’d fill the other side of the bracket with two young guards by the names of Ja Morant and De’Aaron Fox. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I feel like these two will have some sort of a rivalry in the coming years. I’d love to see a mid-20s Grizzlies vs Kings WCF, it just feels right. These four guards seem to be the perfect fit for an event of this nature; superhuman athleticism with a showboating attitude. Who wouldn’t watch this?