LeBron James rips the idea of a play-in postseason format in NBA

LeBron James is the face of the NBA, so when a rule change or major tweak is proposed, he’s always asked about it.

That was the case regarding the talk about the league instituting a possible play-in game. James clearly was not in favor of it, either.

“No, no, no,” James said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “That’s whack. That’s whack. Why? You got to earn your spot to be in the postseason. No consolation for finishing last. That’s corny. That’s corny. That’s whack. To play for what? What are they playing for?”

He continued:

“[Make the playoffs by winning the tournament] even if my record is better than yours? Nah, that’s whack,” James said.

This isn’t much of a surprise, as James has long argued against any changes to the playoff format — most recently lobbying against having teams seeded by overall record, rather than by conference.

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