Adam Silver Considering Multiple Trophies for NBA

European-style knockout cup competitions could soon be coming to North American basketball, according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

Adam Silver said he’s “studying fairly intensely” that possibility in an effort to shake up the format of the NBA.

It is a response to the increasingly lacklustre ratings of the NBA All-Star Game, which has become somewhat stale. That February timeframe could be set aside for a new knockout tournament instead.

Other possible timeframes for the tournament include before the postseason, or just before the playoffs. A play-in tournament for postseason qualification has also been mooted. Such an arrangement would certainly make teams think twice about tanking.

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This would mean that, for the first time, there would be multiple trophies to compete for over the NBA season.

“It’s incumbent on me to constantly be looking at other organizations and seeing what it is we can do better and learn from them,” Adam Silver said.

“In the case of European soccer, I think there is something we can learn from them.”

It’s certainly an unexpected turn of events for a North American league to try and emulate European soccer. As cash revenues explode in that field, the more traditional European soccer leagues have been striving towards creating an NBA or NFL type spectacle.

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Multiple competitions are the norm for European soccer, particularly in England. English top flight teams compete for three domestic trophies including the Premier League, F.A Cup and the League Cup. They also compete for Europe-wide glory in the Champions League and the Europa League.

Despite this, such a format could be alien to NBA fans.

“The most-watched league in the world is only 27 years old,” the commissioner said, referring to the Premier League.

“So the idea that the NBA can’t create new traditions over time makes no sense to me.”