The Finder Pod: Nate Jones proposes the NBA Gauntlet

The Finder With Tom Haberstroh

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The NBA 82-game regular season is just around the corner. Balls are bouncing. Lineups are forming. Ideas are flowing.

Friend of The Finder Nate Jones, an NBA agent and entrepreneur, joins the pod to propose a wild way to juice fan interest in the NBA regular season: Gamify it.

If the owners aren’t willing to shorten the season from 82 games, there might be an alternative way to raise the stakes and make games matter more. Pulling from his affinity for professional wrestling and Monopoly, Jones introduces The Gauntlet, a points-based system that incentivizes teams to play more and play harder throughout the season.

Instead of the standings being decided by win-loss record, Jones argues for a points-based system that awards bonus points for wins in (but not limited to) the following circumstances:

* Second-night of a back-to-back

* In-Season Tournament

* On the road, especially deep in a road trip.

* National TV

The goal is to transform the NBA from an Inventory Sport into an Event Sport without putting players more at risk for injury. We also look at interesting comps to the Continental Basketball Association 7-point system from the 80s and the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour.

OK, Finders:

What do we like?

What do we not like?

Let’s hear it.

If you’d like to watch the episode, it’s up on YouTube. (Sorry for my blurry video. We’re still recovering from Hurricane Helene here in NC).

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