With the recent abundance of injuries in the NBA playoffs, one must ask how the length of the NBA season affects a players body. The current 82 game season is followed up by 4 rounds of 7-game series and has caught the attention of NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
In March, Silver suggested that he did not oppose shortening the NBA season as long as the games cut out were replaced with “meaningful events” that somehow replaced the revenue of the lost home games. (Golen)
The most popular proposition is a 70-game season (Aldridge) in which all teams would lose 6 home games and the revenue they make from both attendance, concessions, and jersey sales. However, for this potential solution to work, the NBA must either prove that shortening the season will attract more fans to engage with the league or that replacement events will produce enough revenue to where the players and coaches will not have to take pay cuts. Ultimately, pay cuts from lost revenue would be counterintuitive as players request a shorter season in hopes of health benefits such as fewer injuries and more vacation time and the pay cut would repel players and coaches from this proposed season.
The incentive to shorten the season has been snowballing over recent years with injuries sustained by both Kawhi Leonard from the Raptors and Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Bucks in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. Other superstars such as Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry have sustained serious injuries in the playoffs. While these players do end up playing through their injuries in most cases, the immense toll brought upon NBA superstars who play 35-40 minutes a night is obviously effecting player health and their ability to perform up to their already high expectations.
The short answer is yes the NBA should shorten the regular season, but not because of any of the previously stated disadvantages of a long season. Overall, a shorter season will lead to more entertaining playoffs and will limit the periods of the regular season where no headlines are being made. This will also increase the number of days in the offseason which, contrary to the popular belief that the offseason is dead time, is THE time of the year where the NBA develops headlines that generate revenue throughout the season. The longer offseason will do nothing except for maximizing the player’s rest and creating suspension in the basketball storyline millions of fans are attracted to.
Despite the limitation of lost revenue, there is simply a higher opportunity cost associated with an 82 game season than a 70 game season. The shortening of the season maximizes the potential of players, enhances the storylines, and decreases the chance of injury, especially come playoff time. Thus, the 70-game solution must be implemented sooner rather than later in order to limit the pressing issue of playoff injuries which subsequently increases fan interest.
Aldridge, David, et al. “Blogtable: What Is Right Number of Games for NBA Regular Season?” NBA.com, NBA.com, 11 Oct. 2017, www.nba.com/article/2017/10/11/blogtable-what-ideal-length-nba-season.
Golen, Jimmy. “NBA Commissioner Silver Would Consider Shortening Season, Replacing All-Star Game.” NBA.com, NBA.com, 1 Mar. 2019, www.nba.com/article/2019/03/01/nba-commissioner-silver-talks-shorter-season.
