. Nick Elam’s idea has never been featured on a bigger stage than the NBA All-Star Game, and on Monday I called him to discuss his invention’s big break. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Nick Elam: I was. The NBA had called me on Jan. 23 to give me a heads up that they were going to have an announcement about the All-Star Game.
The Elam Ending didn’t debut until 2017, when The Basketball Tournament incorporated it. Was there a point during that 10-year span between invention and use when you thought the idea was never going to get picked up? I don’t know if I specifically thought about it for the All-Star Game, but I absolutely thought that it would make players play harder. If you watch, say, a youth basketball game, and I’m talking like little little kids, like third grade gym class or something, even if it’s a timed game, those players aren’t worrying about the clock. They’re just trying their best to score and defend. They’re going at it 100 percent.