The NBA has initiated talks with the players union (NBPA) and televisions to mount a revolution starting in the 2021/22 season, with modified playoffs, fewer games in the regular season and a qualifying tournament (like a Cup) during the course, ensures the ESPN.

The first big news would come in the form of a mini KO tournament. A kind of Cup with qualifiers that involves the 30 franchises, in the purest football style, and in the middle of the season. Between the end of November and December, after Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November). It would start with a qualifying phase, from which a franchise would come out of each of the six Divisions and the two best finalists of this tournament. The top eight would play a final phase from the quarter. Obviously, one of the keys to the success of this new tournament is money. The NBA must ensure that franchises and players get significant benefits.

There would also be tweaks in the last episodes of the playoffs. There would be no more Conference finals but the four teams (two per flank) that were still alive would face each other according to the number of wins and not according to their geographical location. Thus, for the first time there could be an NBA Finals between two teams from the East or the West. Semifinal duels, always according to their winning percentage, would match first against fourth and second against third.

Another access system to the playoffs

The guidelines to fight for the ring would be changed. There would still be eight applicants per Conference, but only six of them would get into the playoffs directly. The remaining two places would be decided on the court: the first one would come out of the confrontation between the seventh and eighth classified of the regular phase and the last one between the loser of that match and the winner of the one that matches the ninth and tenth.

In addition, the NBA is also considering reducing the number of regular season games from 82 to 78, or 79 for some teams, with the aim of lightening the calendar and being able to accommodate that KO competition that coexists with the classic format of the American basketball

The intention of Adam Silver , commissioner of the NBA, is to vote for changes in the April board of directors if all these changes are made or only some for the 2021/22 season, on the 75th anniversary of the competition.

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