NBA could have a 78-game season with an in-season competition, as indicated by The Athletic
NBA could have a 78-game season with an in-season competition, as indicated by The Athletic

As it attempts to re-organize the regular season, the NBA reportedly shared its initial proposal with all 30 teams about how the 2021-22 campaign would be structured.

Shams Charania of the Athletic & Stadium provided details including 82 to 78 games, as well as season tournaments and playoff changes to the season:

ESPN’s Adrian Wojrowski and Zach Lowe reported in November that the NBA was “engaged in serious discussion with the National Basketball Players Association and broadcasts to partners on a broad, dramatic shift in the league calendar. ”

The league is trying to generate more interest in the regular season as the Stars focus more on managing their workload for the playoffs. The viewership for nationally televised games starts from 2019-20.

NBA could have a 78-game season with an in-season competition, as indicated by The Athletic
NBA could have a 78-game season with an in-season competition, as indicated by The Athletic

To encourage the biggest stars to participate in the in-season tournament, Wojnarowski reported on Friday that the NBA winner is ready to give $ 1 million to each player on the team.

Wojnarowski said that prize money may not be enough for greed: “Some of the team officials are sceptical about the plans. Top officials at the top office discussed these ideas with the league office: Star players may not like a five-day scheduling break instead of qualifying for the tournament. The financial reward of the winner-take-all event is called the quarterfinal, semi-final and title round to require the champion. ”

Depending on the schedule set by Charania, the season tournament will effectively extend the regular season, even to teams that are not eligible for the quarter-finals. The group phase alone consists of eight games.

It is unclear whether this is the NBA’s final offer or if the league is open for further twists. According to Wojnarowski, the new format would need to be approved at an NBA meeting in April to go into effect 2021-22.