Elam Ending – Revolutionizing NBA All-Star Game and Basketball

To me it always it just seemed like a fundamental flaw here. You have a team just blatantly and overtly violating the rule of the game because it’s their only recourse to try to come back in the game, Fred roshani the sports core podcast. We have right here on the line a very special guest a highly regarded guest if for those that don’t know the NBA all-star game has a bit of a twist this year. It’s going to feature two elem ending as seen on the basketball tournament TBT, but there’s a lot of intrigue, there’s also a lot of questions. So I thought why not bring a person.

That’s an expert on that ending. Oh, wait. We did and he’s not only an expert. He is the inventor of the Elam ending professor Nick Elam from Ball State University professor. How’s it going. Hey, it’s going great. Thanks for having me on the show. Thank you. Thanks for hopping on now, man. I mean, the ending has been in development for over a decade. You wrote about it back in 2007. It’s been adopted for a couple years now on TBT the basketball tournament, which has we’ve been airing on ESPN and other platforms and now it has all come to a head at the forefront and the NBA all-star game when you heard that the NBA wanted to use your ending your rules that you concocted?

What was your initial reaction. I was really excited. I appreciate it that they gave me a heads-up in advance of the official announcement and told me that they appreciated my passion for the game my innovative ideas they had told me that in their internal discussions with the Players Association that the players really see a lot of merit and this concept of an untimed finished a game. And then when they told me that they wanted to send me as a guest of the NBA to all-star weekend in Chicago. I was throw for all those reasons. But then instantly I started thinking about okay? How is this actually going to look and play out?

How is the all-star game going to end, you know, is it going to be LeBron James dunk James Harden 3 and all these cool possibilities that are out there for the way that to end with the swish of a net. So, I’m excited to see it on Sunday, right? And I would love for you to go in depth and kind of how you concocted the this idea because it’s pretty awesome. This is from NBA’s official for those that don’t know about the all-star game at the beginning of the fourth quarter the game clock will be turned off and a final target score will be set the final target score will be determined by taking the leading teams total cumulative score through three quarters and adding twenty four points representing Kobe Bryant’s number r.i.p the teams will then play an untimed quarter and the first team to reach the final target score will win the NBA all-star game.

So that sounds relatively simple and easy to understand it might take some time for some basketball fans get used to, but I’m curious. How do you come up with that cumulative score at the end going back to when I first devised this concept there were different versions that I laid out one when I first devised this back in 2007. I actually preferred a version where you would eliminate the game clock from the entire second half of the game now. I’m looking back. I think that’s overkill. I don’t think that’s necessary another version you would eliminate the game clock from the fourth quarter, which is what the NBA is going to do for the all-star game.

And then a different version, which is actually the version. I prefer the most is and this is what TBT the basketball tournament implements is where you just get rid of the clock for the last few minutes of the game, but then whatever, you know, whatever part of the game that you’re taking out you’re trying to add back a similar amount there. So, you know, under normal circumstances. I think and especially considering the higher scoring rate in the all-star game. I think the NBA would have used a higher number for the fourth quarter something like 35 points to try to get, you know, the to simulate the length of a full fourth quarter, but given Kobe’s passing this was a really good opportunity to pay tribute to him.

And so that’s where they that what’s why they’re using the +24 setting now from understand you have nothing to do a basketball Ball State University, this has just been a passion project of yours. You, of course that wrote a book as well time’s up for basketballs game clock initially detailing the Elam ending, which is now been developed and utilized by TBT and the all-star game. What was the one thing that kind of got you to really start thinking about this was it the hack of Shaq was the fact that it takes you know, ten minutes to finish two minutes of a basketball game was a combination of the above what – you coming up with this idea or at least saying, you know what I want to seek out a solution.

So, it was a combination of things and hack-a-shaq hackensack refers to, you know, very specific kind of fouling this that’s the kind of fouling you might even see in the first quarter of a game where you’re really targeting. You know, a very very poor free-throw shooter. I was focused more on the late game fouling for the primary purpose of stopping the clock to me it always. It just seemed like a fundamental flaw here you have a team just blatantly and overtly violating the rule of the game because it’s their only recourse to try to come back in the game. And so to me on its own that was enough to try to address it, you know, how you compel teams to just play by the spirit of the rules, but then as I reached there researched it more and more I realized I cause I always had this misconception at?

Well, you know, okay you let teams foul at the end that gives them a chance to come back. But then through my research finding that when a team has to resort to that fouling strategy at the end. But they only come back and win the game about 1% of the time, then that was even more eye-opening to me like wait a second. This is here’s a fundamental flaw and it hardly ever works. It’s really not an appealing style of play for anybody nobody enjoys that style and yet, it’s still the trailing team’s best option. So how you know, and again, it’s all because they are so desperate to stop the clock that they’re willing to hand away free point.

And so that’s when the thought was well, maybe if you just got rid of the clock at the end of the game that would address that particular aspect and not only does it address that. But now it forces the leading team to play more assertively to get to the target score now. You’re going to see higher-quality play all the way through the end because another thing that I’ve noticed in my research is that, you know, throughout the course of a basketball game. We’re used to seeing teams score over one point per possession, but when you get into a true buzzer beater situation that proficiency plummets to about 0.2 points per possession.

So it turns the most important possession of a game into a blooper reel and you know, again, we see. It’s very hard to overcome late deficits even relatively slim deficits you get a lot of good games and big games that just kind of fade out with a whimper and you get clock controversies and reviews and all this kind of stuff. So, he lamenting not only addresses just a fowling aspect, but so many other things that we see late in games. So, how did an administrator a math teacher later a professor go from writing this book concept in the ending to getting the concepts big break and getting it on national television?

Yeah. So you mentioned that you know, this is not my primary field. Yeah, I’m a lifelong educator and you know, as you mentioned I started out as a math teacher when I first thought of this. I was just starting out as a high school math teacher and then along the way, you know, moved into school administration became a high school athletic director became a school principal and now I’m a professor who prepares future principals and all along the way this was just kind of like a side project a side hobby something that I can honestly say that at some point of the day I have thought about every single day over those last.

You know, 13 years now, but you know, so I don’t I’m not when I started this. I was not well-connected in the basketball world. I don’t have the knowledge of, you know, kind of self promotion and that sort of thing. So that’s probably one of the reasons why I did take 10 plus years for somebody to finally give it a chance, but just persistence and diligence and really really scrutinizing the idea to make sure that I had to convince myself if the idea was found and that it was necessary and that had the potential to be very cool. And, you know, all those things along the way just reaching out to people and different different messaging trying to emphasize different things and knowing that at some point somebody was going to take a chance on and finally in 2017.

TBT did knowing knowing that you know, again all along. I was speaking on behalf of the concept? And I just knew that once the concept had a chance to speak for itself. That’s when it would really take off and so that’s exactly what happened at TBT that they implement it the first time and people are wondering. Okay, what are we getting into here and then they see and they’re like, okay, this is actually kind of a simple straightforward kind of an elegant idea it’s not a gimmick. It’s an anti gimmick because, you know, it’s all meant to just preserve a natural style of play through the end.

So again, once people see it then they’re like, okay, like I get this now. This is pretty pretty straightforward now, I’ve heard a little story that you’ve got some major praise from a future hall-of-famer from what I understand Chris Paul cp3 had a TBT team last year and he loved that ending so much. They told David Stern. Hey, we got to implement this one day and here. We are a year later. It’s being implemented in the all-star game, what does it mean to get that kind of praise from that kind of player. Yeah, when he was the one who kind of put the wheels in motion with Commissioner silver and now to see it come to life that really means.

A lot for a few reasons one is because again, he has coached a team and TBT he has seen this he has had to navigate this format of the Elam ending and has that firsthand experience. He’s not basing this on. Oh, you know, he heard about it and you know, kind of thinks that it sounds like a good idea now like he’s lived it he has lived the Elam ending and he thinks that it’s worth being a proponent of this concept. So that’s why it means a lot the other reason that it means. A lot is because of his level of influence. He is the president of the NBA Players Association.

He doesn’t just get to kind of push his own pet causes. He has to speak on behalf of the players that he represents. So for me that tells me that if he is pushing this idea that it’s not just because he likes it, but that there are a fair number of NBA players who also support this concept. So that’s why it means a lot for him to support it given the never-ending battle for eyeballs with sports and other than the NFL, which also has lost some viewership here and there. You know, all of these sports are competing for attention. And people nowadays have shorter attention spans and everything could you see down the road the NBA adopt me that’s not just for the all-star game and special games if they do like say commit season tournament like that.

But an actual regular season. Well, if I had a vote, I would vote for right now. I’d look for it. Yesterday, you know, but I only get so much say I just have to, you know, keep proposing the merits of the concept and then hope that someone who does have the ability to implement it will take a chance on it. But I absolutely think that there’s a chance that it will continue to grow and develop. I mean already based on TBT success? We’ve seen grass roots level leagues and events all throughout the United States and I even just heard the other day. There’s a league a men’s league and Egypt, you know, that’s implemented it.

So again, at that grassroots level. It’s growing now that it’s in the all-star game at the NBA level. That’s a huge and there are so many great testing grounds that, you know, the NBA if they still want to kind of stress test it a little bit many other great testing grounds for it. Whether that is something like the G league whether that’s something like that in that midseason tournament that you mentioned preseason different FIBA leagues in the college level. You have postseason tournaments like the NIT whether you experiment with a lot of rules or the CBI or the CIT. So again, I think it’ll continue to grow at those kinds of venues first and then again the dream like you said is to see it play at the highest level the NBA the WNBA NCAA Division one.

And the Olympics if you’re gonna implement the rules today with the NBA what would be the target score. It’s important too, III think it’s okay to keep the clock around pretty far into the game because that way that makes it a little more TV friendly where you’re able to have a pretty predictable time range where, you know, I think NBA likes that two-and-a-half hour window the longer you keep the game clock around, the more predictable the length of the game is going to be and with that 24-second shot clock in the NBA you really don’t see teams with the lead really going to stall offense until, you know just a very final minutes of the game.

So for NBA, I would keep the clock around until the first stoppage under the 3-minute mark of the fourth quarter another reason why that’s a good transition point is because that happens to be the last media timeout in the NBA. So it makes for just kind of a natural time to transition. So, we’re going to keep the clock to the three minute mark of the fourth quarter and I would set the target score equal to seven points above the leading team score. So you think about, you know, think about three minutes seven points. If you extrapolate that over the course of a whole game a 48 minute game.

That’s about a hundred and twelve points and that’s that pretty well matches the scoring rate in the NBA. So, I would go three minutes of the fourth quarter and use plus seven to set the target score good stuff. What’s great. What’s great about it is that, you know, all these things are written in pencil. We just have to give it a chance and test it out and see if there are any adjustments that need to be made. You know, if it seems like that’s not enough points. Maybe we need to bump it up to plus eight or plus nine and you can certainly do that for TBT.

We started out with four minute mark and plus seven. We have since bump that up to plus eight to try to again match that amount of time that we’re taking out. So again. You just it just needs a chance. It just needs to be a chance to be experimented with to find that perfect setting for each league. Well, I think you picked a great sport to implement a change like that or help implement a change like that because I mean basketball is such a global sport. And now even more even just domestically. I mean, TB tees had a lot of success big threes had a lot of success.

You all the international leagues. Yeah, FIBA, of course the NBA is tinkering with maybe doing a midseason tournament and some other stuff in the preseason and of course of with the all-star game and everything. So, I think you got a pretty good foundation here you definitely have a community of not just basketball players, but I think fans. They’re willing to try something new. Yeah. And what I think is really cool about it is again because when you read about it or hear about it for the first time the e lamenting it sounds like the sounds much more complex than it really is. I mean, really goes comes down to your rhythm.

They pretty basic arithmetic at the end of the game there. And so again, I think once people see it then they realize ok. Now, I understand the spirit of this rule and I get feedback of all types from all different people one thing. I think is really one of the coolest things though some of the people who are most outspoken in their support of the Elam ending are people who would kind of consider themselves old school or purists people who really just value good fundamental basketball and that’s again. That’s really what the Elam ending is meant to, you know, meant to capture. Excellent. Well, Nick, I sincerely appreciate the time.

I know you got a very busy all-star week tell us what you’ll be up to over the weekend. Well, I’m definitely going to be in the arena on Friday Saturday and Sunday night for all the all-star weekend events. I’ve also got, you know some different media opportunities, which is really exciting. It’s always nice to be able to discuss this concept? I’m really excited that NBA TV is going to have me on Friday afternoon and again have a chance to discuss the concepts. So though. It’s going to be a fun weekend.