NBA play-in tournament creator responds to LeBron James after bold comments

Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James has made it clear that he is not in support of the NBA play-in tournament. The four-time NBA champion did not hold back on sharing his opinion, stating that he feels the NBA play-in tournament creator should be fired for coming up with the idea. The NBA executive who was behind the idea responded to the NBA play-in tournament LeBron James, standing by the league's decision. 

What did LeBron James say about NBA play-in tournament?

LeBron James on the play-in tournament: "Whoever came up with that s--- needs to be fired"

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten)

As of now, LeBron James and Luka Doncic are amongst NBA players who have spoken against the play-in tournament. "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired," James said. Many on Twitter and other social media users looked at James' comment as whining, wondering if he does not want to face certain teams in the postseason. 

Some have supported LeBron James' views, agreeing that players do not need to compete for more for the last two playoff spots. However, most people ended up liking the idea. Sometimes, teams at the bottom of the table tend to drop their performance towards the end. With a new format, more teams have a chance to make it to the playoffs. 

LeBron 🤝 Mark Cuban

Not raising a strong objection to the play-in until it looked like his team might be in it

— Sean Highkin (@highkin)

NBA play-in tournament creator responds to LeBron James' comments

Evan Wasch – the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Strategy & Analytics – responded to James' harsh criticism while speaking to Washington Post. “Obviously, we welcome feedback from our players and teams," Wasch said. "But, on balance, we believe the play-in tournament offers more benefits than downsides". 

He explained that in the league office, there is a "general energy" for the play-in tournament. They are trying to not get too high or too low. He further spoke about how the schedule is balanced with economics and basketball in mind. "In the short term, coming off these two years — [which] have been incredibly challenging not just from a health and safety standpoint but from an economic standpoint as well — I think the view is, let’s get back to our normal course, our 82-game season". 

(Image credits: LeBron James Instagram)