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The NBA has proposed significant rule changes for the 2021-22 season. These include reducing the regular season schedule to 78 games, adding an in-season tournament with a million-dollar prize per player to the winners, play-in tournaments for lower NBA playoffs seeds, and reseeding the final four teams in the playoffs each year based on record. Shams Charania of The Athletic released the details:
Sources: NBA has sent teams the proposal for 2021-22 season changes:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 21, 2019
- 78-game regular season
- In-season tournament ($1M per player, $1.5M coaches pool for champion)
- Play-in tourneys for 7-8 playoff seeds
- Final 4 reseed in playoffs based on regular season records
Charania elaborates on the in-season tournament:
Sources: NBA's in-season tournament format proposal: All 30 teams involved from late Nov. to mid-Dec.:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 21, 2019
- Divisional games (4 home, 4 away) for group stage
- 6 divisional stage winners, plus 2 wildcards for knockout
- Quarterfinals at home market; semifinals/Finals at neutral site
What say you? Good ideas, bad ideas, or is the NBA attempting to solve problems that don’t exist?