The NBA could play official matches outdoors

The NBA opens to historical revolution: Evan Walsh, executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics at the NBA, has revealed that the league is considering holding some games outdoors. The idea came about after the great success of Major League Baseball's "Field of Dreams" last month, an ad hoc field created in northern Iowa and inspired by the 1989 Kevin Kostner film of the same name. First to report the news were Chris Mannix and Howard Beck, hosts of "The Crossover" podcast, who hosted Evan Walsh.  

The reactions of the web are a perfect mix between incredulity and exaltation, because if on the one hand there are already those who imagine the NYC derby between the Nets and Knicks played at Rucker Park or the LA derby played at Venice Beach, on the other hand there are those who point out the structural problems of such a proposal (just think of the humidity and the weather forecast). But that doesn't stop Walsh, who admits that "the logistical challenges of a basketball game played outdoors are greater than those of baseball, but we'll continue to talk about it and evaluate the idea".

The revolution would be historic, but it is not the first time that a high-level basketball game has been played outdoors: the Phoenix Suns played three preseason games between 2008 and 2010 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California; in 2011 the NCAA season began with the game between North Carolina and Michigan State played in San Diego, on the deck of the historic Navy aircraft carrier Carl Vinson - under the eyes of Barak Obama.

Among the many boxes that still need to be ticked is the presence of the public, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports points out. It would, in any case, be a unique experience in stages never before explored for games that really count. The umpteenth incredible challenge that awaits the NBA, if accepted by the league's top management and the NBPA.