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A view of the tournament court before the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

NBA world reacts to 'colorful' in-season tournament courts

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 11/3/23

The idea of an in-season NBA tournament has elicited mixed reactions from the basketball world. However, upon the tournament's debut on Friday, nearly everyone agreed that the league embraced color a little too much when designing each team's courts.

The consensus opinion was that the courts are a bit hard to look at, which is a fair criticism considering more than half the hardwoods feature, for the most part, the brightest color home teams have to offer.

While the court mock-ups spotlighted the burst of color, seeing was believing for most.

NBA making us look at the in-season tournament courts pic.twitter.com/DqiQdrbdVp
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 4, 2023

I will add my voice to the chorus of curmudgeons and say the in-season tournament courts are dreadful.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) November 4, 2023

These NBA in-season tournament courts are HIDEOUS
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) November 4, 2023

I'm all for the in-season tournament, but the courts gotta go. Just use a logo on the court like the playoffs or Finals.
— Femi Abebefe (@FemiAbebefe) November 3, 2023

What’s worse?

The NBA In-season Tournament?

Or the In-season Tournament courts?

(Via @JoshuaBRobbins, @katywinge) pic.twitter.com/TDTYvxfFMl
— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) November 3, 2023

Watching hoops with the NBA In-Season tournament courts pic.twitter.com/dMNQI43Z7g
— Tyler Rucker (@tyler_rucker) November 3, 2023

Meanwhile, others, like former guard J.J. Redick, took the opportunity to take a playful shot at a former employer. Once a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, Redick came away "confused" after his first look at their court for the in-season tourney.

"The first court I saw was the Clippers court and there was a trophy at half-court," Redick said during the Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks matchup on ESPN. "And I was like, 'Well, the Clippers never won the trophy.'"

Between basketball fans and media alike, the vast majority had an unfavorable opinion of the in-season tournament courts. Yet, there was a small portion of objective basketball people brave enough to defend the eyesores.

I like the wacky courts AND the NBA’s in-season tournament pic.twitter.com/9sqw7lh84W
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 4, 2023

These new In-Season Tournament courts take some getting used to, but I am liking OKC. Thoughts on the new courts? pic.twitter.com/5htARApiCQ
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) November 4, 2023

Understandably, the NBA would want to separate the in-season tournament from the regular season in every way possible. So, changing up the courts for the virtually stake-less get-together between the league's 30 teams is a smart way of doing that. Heck, even featuring a team's most prominent color wasn't the worst idea.

However, as with all good plans, execution is paramount. The effort was there, but it's possible the NBA didn't properly think things through before exposing viewers' eyes to a rainbow explosion.

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