NBA commissioner Adam Silver floated several new ideas to make NBA games more globally appealing and line up with how the sport is played internationally.
Silver said that while he believes fans like what they’ve been seeing on the court, there is room for improvement to make the game more consistent with how it’s played in other countries.
This included decreasing the length of a quarter from 12 minutes to 10 minutes.
“The NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes. And I would be, I am, a fan of four 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure that many others are,” Silver said.
The commissioner’s reasoning was in direct reference to modern TV formats that he felt audiences are used to.
“I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with, sort of, modern television habits,” he said on the “Dan Patrick Show.”
“People in arenas aren’t asking us to shorten the game. But I think as a television program, being two hours, it’s Olympic basketball, it’s two hours, you know, college basketball.”
A 40-minute game would likely help with players’ complaints about “load management,” a buzzword that has trended in the league for a couple seasons, referring to players wanting more rest and having to manage their output.
In theory, saving eight minutes per game for 82 games is the equivalent of shaving off about 13 or 14 games, something Silver said he would be a fan of.
“I don’t think most fans would be disappointed if it was a two-hour presentation instead of — our game is actually about two hours and fifteen minutes.”
‘Ratings are fine.’
At the same time, Silver shrugged off a couple of wild ideas from host Patrick.
These included eliminating three-point shots from the in-season tournament and lighting up the court “like a pinball machine” to indicate when three-pointers are allowed.
The only other suggestion Silver briefly mentioned was two free throws for a foul on a three-point shot but not in the last two minutes of the game.
Silver also boldly claimed that “ratings are fine” for the NBA, a viewpoint that hasn’t been shared by analysts like Colin Cowherd. The host suggested in December that NBA ratings were down as much as 48% year-over-year.
Others, like Shaquille O’Neal, have disagreed with Silver’s suggestion that no one has a problem with the game on the court, too.
Shaq has stated multiple times that he felt an excess of three-point attempts have made the game less exciting, particularly because more long-distance shooting means less dunking.
Silver fell back on the idea that he was just floating suggestions because he was asked; however, as Patrick pointed out, league owners will soon be getting together to vote on any changes.
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