Half of the NBA season has passed, and Commissioner Adam Silver is actively seeking ways to improve the league. This week, he proposed a drastic rule change for the length of quarters during NBA games. Under his plan, 12-minute quarters could be reduced by two minutes, resulting in 10-minute quarters. This change could take eight minutes off the game clock.
Silver believes that shorter quarters would create a more “consistent” presentation for basketball fans watching games on TV. He argues that a two-hour format for a game is more in line with modern television habits. He also cites the length of games played in other leagues around the world, noting that the NBA is the only league that plays 48-minute games.
In his interview with “The Dan Patrick Show”, Silver also discussed the idea of shortening the game to 40 minutes, like Olympic basketball, which could help reduce the wear and tear on players and alleviate the problem of “load management”. He suggests that a 40-minute game would be equivalent to taking 15 games off the season.
While Silver acknowledges that his ideas have only been discussed and are not yet being implemented, he is open to considering such changes. He also praised Major League Baseball for introducing a pitch clock, which he believes has increased the entertainment value of the game.
Silver emphasized that the NBA is not afraid to look at changes and is actively considering various options to improve the league. In his words, “I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits. People in arenas aren’t asking us to shorten the game, but … as a television program, Olympic basketball is two hours. College basketball is 40 minutes.”
