The NBA Cup was a deemed a success during its inaugural 2023-24 season. With competitivity up across the board, ‘drab’ regular season games in the middle of November and December are now filled with a drive to hoist the Cup in Vegas and of course, earn an extra $500k. Trevor Ariza however, has one gripe with it all.
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“The only thing that’s taking me back is the courts. They are nasty. Disgusting. ‘Cus sometimes the players are wearing the same color they used on the court and it’s like, ‘what the f***, what am I looking at?’”
“Straight up hallucinating watching the Celtics play.” – @ChandlerParsons & Trevor Ariza on the NBA cup courts. pic.twitter.com/xHZIM3oYTt
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 23, 2024
NBA players grew up playing on hardwood that was nothing else other than, well, the color of wood. So, upon being thrust onto a court that is as vibrant as some of these designs, it surely would take time to adjust for them. The ball being orange and some teams’ NBA Cup schemes also having colors that revolve around that spectrum seems disruptive to player tendencies.
Chandler Parsons wasn’t too kind on his feedback either as he piggybacked off what Ariza stated. “I thought I ate the wrong brownies last year. Straight up hallucinating watching the Celtics play the other night.”
The viewing experience on television isn’t as satisfying as one would imagine. This speaks to Ariza’s point as teams like the Miami Heat last season indulged in bright red jerseys on In-Season Tournament nights. This caused quite the ‘sensory overload’ and general confusion on what was happening.
The Heat have now switched up their court to a tamer design for the tourney this year. It’s more subtle and captures the spirit of the Cup while also making sure it isn’t an eyesore for viewers and players alike.
Changes in the court and the overall arena can have lasting effects on players throughout a game. The perfect example of this was during the 2020 Bubble where it was evident that the lack of fans behind baskets led to problems in depth perception while shooting for several stars and others.
In all fairness to Adam Silver and the league, they have done a tremendous job in conceptualizing the In-Season Tournament. Ratings are higher, competitiveness oozes through most games, and players have a monetary incentive to play harder. Figuring out the minutiae of how the courts and jerseys look will come slowly but surely.
