The NBA has been considering some radical changes to its regular season and postseason formats in an attempt to increase fan interest, but one particular idea that would dramatically change the way the league’s champion is determined appears to be losing steam.
One of the changes league officials have been discussing would be to reseed the four playoff semifinalists regardless of their conference affiliation. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, that idea could be scrapped before the Board of Governors meets in April.
News filed to ESPN with @ZachLowe_NBA: The NBA is seriously reconsidering idea of reseeding the four conference finalists as part of larger proposal to reshape league calendar. That element could be eliminated before Board of Governors vote in April. Story soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 7, 2020
Reseeding in the semifinal would mean two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams could meet in the NBA Finals. The two remaining teams from the East and West would be reseeded from 1-4 and then matched up accordingly, meaning it would be possible for the No. 1 seed Golden State Warriors to face the No. 4 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinal, for example. The motivation behind the idea would be to create a situation where the two best teams in the NBA square off in the Finals, rather than the best team from each conference.
Some of the concerns about the idea come from coastal teams that are concerned about potentially having to travel significantly further in the semifinal than their eventual NBA Finals opponent, according to ESPN. There would also be the risk of some of the league’s traditional rivalries fizzling out.
That change would obviously be dramatic, so you can understand why many would be opposed to it. There are some other noteworthy ideas that will be discussed as well, and approving any of them could still mean a much different looking NBA either in the regular season, playoffs or both.
