In a podcast with Steve Nash, the NBA superstar LeBron James said he would like to experiment with 40 -minute matches, as in Europe, instead of the usual 48 in the NBA.
It is a sea serpent that has agitated the NBA for many years, when it comes to finding solutions to lighten the physical load that weighs on players. While the NBA does not intend to reduce the number of regular season games, the solution could be to reduce the duration of the meetings, for example by taking up the FIBA rules, applied in particular in Europe and in all international competitions, namely to play quarter-time of 10 minutes instead of 12.
This week, LeBron James spoke of this subject in the “mind the game” podcast, which he animates alongside the former MVP Steve Nash. And the 40 -year -old superstar seems ready to test this idea: “A 40 -minute match is intriguing. The matches go so fast, and there is no adaptation period in an international match. It gives a slightly stronger feeling of urgency. So that’s something we could discuss. It would be difficult, because once we start to touch the story of the game … but it is a subject that can also be put on the table. »»
Silver is also favorable
Reducing an NBA match by eight minutes would automatically lead to the records more difficult to beat, but in a season at 82 games, eight minutes of less play would represent between 12 and 13 48 -minute games to play less for each player, which is not negligible. At the end of January, the NBA commissioner Adam Silver also expressed himself in favor of this 4 × 10 minutes rule.
“There is another thing I am a fan, but I am probably in the minority, when we get involved in basketball in a global way. The NBA is the only league to play for 48 minutes and I love ten-minute quarter-time. If we put aside what it involves for records for example, I think that a two -hour format for a match is more in agreement with modern television habits. »Case to follow …
