With each game played abroad, in the regular season or in the preseason, Adam Silver must answer questions about an expansion of the NBA, but also about greater internationalization. In the past, under David Stern, there had been talk of creating franchises in Europe, or even a division. The idea has been forgotten, but the NBA clearly wants to play more matches in Europe, the Middle East or even South America.
“It’s something you think about all the time” admits the NBA boss about the number of matches played by teams traveling abroad. “We have such a dense schedule, with 82 regular season games, that the simple fact of playing a match in Europe, to take into account the time, travel and jet lag on the way back, already has an effect on the schedule. »
« Create windows in our schedule to allow teams to play more games”
But, precisely, the NBA would be ready to adapt its calendar according to the meetings to be played abroad.
« One of the things we’re going to start looking at, as our business evolves and our global audience grows, is how we should possibly rethink the season schedule. regular. We added a “play-in” tournament during the pandemic. We are now considering mid-season or mid-season tournaments. We would like to find a way, as popularity increases, to create windows in our schedule to allow teams to play more games, whether in Europe, the Middle East, South America or elsewhere. in the world. We recognize that the interest is there and given the length of our regular season, we could create opportunities to play more games. »
