NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t shying away from the discourse around his sport and fans’ complaints about it.
In recent weeks, Silver has highlighted online engagement numbers and the excitement around Team USA at the Paris Olympics as positive data points while acknowledging it is his job to turn hype around the sport into direct consumption of the NBA.
As part of that mission, Silver knows he has to be open to rule changes.
The latest idea came Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show as Silver threw his support behind shortening NBA quarters from 12 minutes to 10 minutes, reducing the total game time by 20 percent.
“As we get more involved in global basketball, the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes,” Silver said. “I am a fan of four 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure how many others are, and putting aside what it means for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits.”
To Silver’s point, FIBA and Olympic games are 40 minutes. So are WNBA games, which feature 10-minute quarters.
Most suggested NBA rule changes revolve around play style. People have in recent years complained about the lack of physicality and uptick in jump-shooting. Shortening the game would not address that, but it would help Silver in his quest to get more people to watch the sport on television.
It also speaks to a mindset that is healthy for the NBA. Rather than getting defensive over critiques or holding onto tradition, Adam Silver is going out and talking openly about the state of the league and how he believes it can be even greater.
