What is the story about?
The 2026-27 NBA season has started, and we’re already excited to see the Washington Wizards usher in a new era. But apparently, while the AJ Dybantsa Age is just starting, there’s a new report that at some point in the future, you may not be spending as much time at Capital One Arena to watch a game like in the past.
According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would like to see games shorten to 40 minutes.
Here are some of the pros:
- Lowered risk of injury to players. Presumably, if players, especially starters, appear for fewer minutes a game, they will have fresher legs toward the end of the game.
- Fewer minutes, but not necessarily fewer games: NBA fans of the future can compare to the current era and the 1990s more easily when it comes to team records.
- The NBA will meet the FIBA standard length: FIBA games played in Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere in the Americas are 40 minutes long with 10 miunte quarters. The WNBA also plays games based on this standard length.
- TV time: When you watch a Washington Mystics game where Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin beat the Indiana Fever and their ballyhooed roster, the game fits a bit more neatly in a two-hour window including timeouts. A Washington Wizards game where Dybantsa, Anthony Davis and Trae Young beat the Indiana Pacers is more like 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 48 minute game length. If they play two hours with a 40 minute game, perhaps the Big Three will be at a collective lower risk of injury. If TV timeouts were more tightly controlled like an international tournament (AmeriCup, the World Cup or Olympics), games can regularly be a bit under 2 hours each.
And here are some cons:
- Potentially less time for bench players. If there are 82 games at 40 minutes each without overtimes, there would be 656 minutes left than an NBA regular season with 82 games at 48 minutes each. That’s the equivalent of 13.67 games at 48 minutes a game and 656 fewer minutes, not including overtime, to give to players, especially bench players. Also, superstars and starters who are averaging over 30 minutes in games with 12-minute quarters may not see much of a drop-off in playing time if games suddenly had 10 minute quarters.
- Career statistical marks will be harder to achieve by younger and future NBA players. Certain records, like the career scoring record with LeBron James holds (and it’s still increasing) will be even more difficult to reach.
Would you like to see NBA games align with the 40 minute FIBA standard? Or do you think the time limit should stay at 48 minutes? Let us know in the comments below.
