NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made waves Wednesday when he went on “The Dan Patrick Show” and said that one rule change he would be a fan of the league adopting is ten minute quarters and a 40-minute game. Silver went on to say that the move could reflect international and college basketball rules, while maybe helping to mitigate the load management issues that the NBA has had in recent years. Nothing is in the works yet, but for a commissioner to publicly come out with a potential rule change as radical as this sent shockwaves throughout the league and the NBA community.
Multiple coaches came out to respond to Silver’s comments including Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks. The buzz around the idea of the NBA adopting this rule change has sparked plenty of discussion in league circles. The unifying and prevailing feeling was that if Silver felt comfortable enough to broadcast this rule change idea, it may be further along in the process of being considered than the NBA community had thought.
Adam Silver Floats 40 Minute NBA Games
The NBA community came alive Wednesday afternoon when Adam Silver came out with a surprising statement. Silver responded to Patrick’s lead in of “Give me a ‘this has been discussed,” by proposing a moderate rule change that three-point shooters who are fouled would only receive two free throws instead of three. Then came the right hook. Silver pivoted and volunteered his own proposal:
“Something else that I’m a fan of, and I’m probably in a minority, is we get more involved in global basketball, the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes, and I am a fan of four, ten minute quarters. I’m not sure that many others are. I mean putting aside what it means for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent, sort of [adapting to] modern television habits.”
The conversation went to other potential rule changes but Silver came back and reiterated his 40 minute game idea again later in the interview. “We’re open here. We talk a lot about potential changes to the game. I would just add, back to some notion of a 40 minute game. I mean because this game is so global one of the things we’d like to see over time is creating a more consistent set of rules globally around the game.”
Reaction From Around the League
Silver made sure to qualify his statements by reiterating that nothing is official and nothing has been prepared in terms of making this a reality shortly. He also didn’t stop himself from touting some of the other benefits that reducing game times in the NBA could have. Alleviating load management was the main issue that this idea could fix from a functionality standpoint. Whereas the focus that Silver had mentioned first was from a messaging and fan interaction standpoint.
It will be interesting to see where the story surrounding these comments goes, but a pair of current NBA coaches gave their initial opinion when they were asked about the commissioner’s comments. Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone said, “I hope we don’t go to 10-minute quarters. I hope we don’t go to the four-point line. I hope we don’t become Barnum & Bailey where we’re just having to do whatever we have to do to keep viewership. Because there is a history and greatness to this game. And a purity to this game and I hope we can find a way to stay true to that.”
New York Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau offered, “I’m probably more traditional, so I’d hate to see that. That’s just a personal [bias] — I haven’t really thought about it just because of the records and things of that nature. I think we have a great game. I think what people want to see is competition. And when you study what’s transpired over time, there’s always been different styles of play. … But what goes into winning is the same, and what the fans enjoy is great competition. So I think if we focus on the competition aspect of it, everything else will fall into place.”
Final Thoughts
Silver coming out and saying something like this publicly was shocking. He has been on somewhat of a media blitz ahead of the All-Star Game to try and stem the tide of negative publicity the NBA is facing. This could just be a distraction to get people talking about the NBA in a different light and get fans engaged in the basketball season ahead of next weekend’s Super Bowl, but I believe Silver is calculated when he makes a statement like this.
League commissioners have long adopted the policy of putting an idea into the public eye and gauging the reaction. That is nothing new, so it’s likely that the NBA has had more than just preliminary talks about making a change from 48 minute games to 40 minute ones. Reflecting international and college basketball formats is fine, but this screams that the problems plaguing the NBA aren’t going away naturally.
Between the devaluation of the regular season, load management and lower TV ratings, the balance of making a permanent change to the structure of the NBA could be coming. League executives trying to address these issues may be more equal than previously thought.
In terms of the actual idea of moving to ten minute quarters, I don’t have a particular lean. The NBA has one of the best products in the world when it’s firing on all cylinders and maximizing that product is generally a good principle. The problem is that when the NBA isn’t firing on all cylinders, 48 minutes can feel like a drag for fans, viewers and too often the players as well.
I would want to see basketball in the United States beyond the collegiate level test this out to see what changes are observed and can be expected from the NBA before any move is made. My guess is that NBA G-League will see 40 minute games first.
