Could the NBA be heading toward a major change? Commissioner Adam Silver may be open to dramatically altering the league's game format, reducing each of the four quarters from 12 minutes to 10 minutes, as is customary in European basketball and the EuroLeague.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Silver has shown "openness to the idea" of shortening NBA games from 48 to 40 minutes.
The proposal has resurfaced amid a wave of injuries and frequent absences by some of the league's biggest stars, raising concerns among fans and NBA executives. Players such as Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are among those recently dealing with serious injuries, renewing debate over player workloads, the demanding 82-game regular-season schedule and how to keep star players on the court.
"What I've heard is that Adam Silver actually likes the idea of 40-minute games. He thinks about basketball in global terms," Mannix said.
However, he questioned whether such a change would make financial sense and suggested that shorter games would not necessarily lead to a meaningful reduction in the workload carried by the league's biggest stars.
Instead, Mannix warned, bench players could be the ones most affected. With fewer minutes available, teams might tighten their rotations even further, relying on a smaller group of players rather than distributing playing time across the roster.
Critics say it won't shorted playing time for the league's biggest stars
(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
"We'll see bench players pushed further and further to the margins, to the point where teams say they don't need a 15-man rotation, just 10 players. That doesn't make sense to me," he explained.
This is not the first time Silver has expressed interest in the idea. As early as January 2025, the NBA commissioner said he liked the concept of four 10-minute quarters. At the time, he also argued that a television product lasting approximately two hours would better suit modern viewing habits.
Mannix believes the league needs to consider changes, even if shortening games or reducing the number of regular-season contests presents considerable challenges. "It's better to be proactive than reactive. All the problems happening right now are hurting the game because people pay for tickets to see the stars," he said. "This is the most star-driven league of the four major American sports leagues, and not having those players on the court is a significant problem for the NBA."