Elam Ending

The Elam Ending is a rules format for basketball. Unlike traditional basketball rules, in which the game is played with 4 timed quarters, with the Elam Ending format, teams end the game by playing to a target score.

Developed by and named for Nick Elam, a professor at Ball State University,[1] the Elam Ending was first used by The Basketball Tournament in 2017. The Elam Ending received widespread attention in 2020 when it was chosen as the format for the NBA All-Star Game.

Format

In The Basketball Tournament, the game clock is turned off at the first whistle with up to four minutes remaining. The NBA All-Star Game uses an untimed "fourth quarter".

The teams then play to a target score, with the shot clock still enforced. The first team to meet or exceed the target score wins, so there is no overtime.[2] The winning score can be a walk-off field goal (two-point or three-point) or a free throw.

Nick Elam devised this system because he was frustrated with stalling and passive play by a leading team and intentionally fouling by a losing team. Elam proposed that his solution, which turns off the game clock, addresses these issues.

History

In 2017, The Basketball Tournament's play-in games utilized the Elam Ending rules. Since the 2018 edition, the Elam Ending has been used in all games. Originally, the target score was seven points more than team leading or tie score;[3] since 2019, the target score is eight points more than the leading team's/tied score.[4]

Starting with the 2020 tournament, a rule change was made in order to make a game-ending free throw slightly less likely. If the defensive team commits a non-shooting foul during the Elam Ending with the offensive team in the bonus, the offense receives one free throw plus possession. According to TBT organizers, this eliminated an incentive for teams to foul in one specific situation—when the defense could reach the target score with a free throw or two-point basket while the offense needed a three-pointer. The idea for this change came from a user that Elam interacted with on a message board.[5]

Through the 2019 tournament, Jeremy Pargo of Overseas Elite was the TBT leader in making game-winning shots during the Elam Ending, with five[6] (in the 2018 and 2019 tournaments, Overseas Elite won a total of 10 games). During the 2020 tournament, Golden Eagles forward Jamil Wilson tied his record and ultimately broke it in 2021.

Starting in 2020, the Elam Ending was adopted for the NBA All-Star Game when Chris Paul brought up the idea to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.[7] After the end of the 3rd quarter, the teams added a score of 24 to the leading team's score and the teams played until one team reached that score. The target score was chosen to honor Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash a month earlier. In 2020, Team LeBron won the game over Team Giannis 157–155 in a back-and-forth game. The Elam Ending format was received well by fans and players alike.[8][9]

References
  1. "NBA All-Star Game to Utilize Ball State Professor's 'Elam Ending' For Second Straight Year". Ball State University. February 26, 2021.
  2. Lowe, Zach (June 18, 2018). "New kind of crunch time has NBA luminaries excited". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  3. Passan, Jeff (June 11, 2018). "10 Degrees: The Mensa member's idea that can solve almost all of baseball's problems". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  4. "The Basketball Tournament: 2019 Official Rules and Regulations". TheTournament.com. 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  5. Lowe, Zach (March 4, 2020). "The Basketball Tournament changing rules to curb free throws ending game". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. "FAQ". thetournament.com. 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  7. "Here's How Chris Paul and Nick Elam Brought the 'Elam Ending' to the NBA". Complex. February 25, 2020.
  8. Botkin, Brad (February 17, 2020). "NBA All-Star Game 2020: After wild Elam Ending, you can't help but wonder about this format in real NBA games". CBS Sports.
  9. "The Elam Ending led to an INTENSE All-Star fourth quarter". ESPN. February 16, 2020.
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