And despite the obnoxiously-painted floors, the borderline inscrutable manner in which tournament games were also regular season ones, games being played in Las Vegas, and meager-by-NBA-salary-standards prize money, those crazy bastards made it work. 

We enjoyed playoff-caliber basketball before Christmas.

The league’s most recognizable superstar, LeBron James, was awarded the inaugural In-Season Tournament MVP trophy as he guided his Lakers squad to the inaugural In-Season Tournament title, and a fun, upstart Indiana Pacers team emerged from basketball purgatory to announce its arrival as a longshot NBA title threat. There were memorable game-winning buzzer-beaters, hard-fought back-and-forth battles between established contenders and rising stars, and the sort of fights that only unfold when something real is on the line.

So what can track learn from this?

For starters, relying on one short championship season to drum up interest among fans is a losing proposition. We do a horrendous job of giving casual fans a reason to stay plugged into the sport between Olympic and World Championship cycles. The Diamond League is sitting there, almost entirely separate from the events that most of the world associates with track & field. Let’s shift it up in the calendar so that the Diamond League – and especially the DL Championship – serves as our In-Season Tournament: the precursor to the even bigger title fight.

Another related note, is that from a spectator standpoint, riveting competition doesn’t necessarily require the competitors to be at their absolute best. The Lakers fought the hardest of any team in the NBA in November and December, but as of right now, there are five teams Vegas oddsmakers think have a better shot at winning this year’s (real/normal) NBA championship than the Lakers. Track athletes tend to be precious about when they compete, and rarely do so if they aren’t in top form – we need to give them a reason to race/jump/throw/vault when they’re still dialing things in. The product on display will still be entertaining.

And the third, is that money talks. Each Laker was awarded a $500,000 prize for winning the tournament. That’s not a lot by American pro basketball standards, but it was enough of a carrot to get players fired up. I’d imagine a significantly smaller prize purse would still be mighty enticing to a lot of the world’s best track athletes. Then there’s the calculation some will inevitably make: “I’m going to go for the money now, knowing the big dogs are going for Olympic gold later.” By presenting athletes with a few titles to shoot for of various levels of prestige, some will take a personally cynical approach, but ultimately that means higher level of competition the entire season, and a chance for athletes outside of the usual suspects (up-and-comers, aging greats, etc.) to enjoy a little limelight.

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