The race for NBA MVP has been a toss-up between two players all season, Houston Rockets point guard James Harden and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. And the winner may determine the future of the league.

The NBA has always been a dynamic and evolving league, unafraid of sweeping structural reforms. It added a 3-point line in 1979. It tracks referees’ mistakes and publishes them. And most recently, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his team changed the lottery process for the draft to keep teams from tanking.