This story was updated with new information.
Millions of viewers tuned in to watch the U.S. men’s basketball team, led by NBA superstars Stephen Curry and LeBron James, defeat host country France, headlined by NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama, at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August. One detail in particular stood out to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
During an appearance on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ on Wednesday, Silver opened up about one ‘wild’ idea he’s ‘a fan’ of: shortening each quarter to align with FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and the Olympics.
“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.”
NBA ratings and 3-point shooting issues
The NBA has experienced a slight decline in viewership this season, per Nielsen. Ratings are up on ESPN and ABC but down on TNT vs. last year, which was the most-watched regular season in four years. Many critics have pointed at the quality of the game as a reason, from the onslaught of 3-point attempts to the lack of physicality and lopsided scores.
‘Is there too much 3-point shooting in certain situations? Maybe,’ Silver said. ‘I also don’t want to overreact to what we are seeing in the game. I think the game is incredible right now, day in and day out. I think some of the criticism is a bit unfair.’
Silver described the ongoing narrative as ‘frustrating’ and clarified that the NBA’s ‘ratings are now about even with last year.’ He said the excitement around basketball is still there, pointing to the Olympic gold medal game between the U.S. men and France, which averaged 19.5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, the most-watched gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. However, Silver said it has become more difficult to engage the public because there’s ‘unlimited numbers of channels and programming.’
‘My job is to get more basketball lovers to watch the NBA and watch it longer,’ Silver said. ‘Our job has become that much harder because we are competing against so many different forms of entertainment: podcasts, social media. … We have to up our game.’
Silver said the NBA has made a series of changes to improve the game’s entertainment value, from coach challenges to the play-in tournament and the NBA Cup, and will continue to do so: ‘We’re open here.’
As for 10-minute quarters, Silver says that would create a ‘more consistent set of rules globally around the game’ — FIBA and the Olympics both have 40-minute games, as does the WNBA — but a shortened game can also address the league’s load management and rest issues.
The NBA is not discussing implementing 10-minute quarters, a person familiar with league plans told USA TODAY Sports. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
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