The day could be coming when a division winner might not make the NBA playoffs.
Commissioner Adam Silver envisions that happening in the near future.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion at the Beyond Sport United program on Wednesday in Newark, N.J., Silver said the league might not guarantee a playoff spot for division winners if they finish out of the top eight in the conference standings.
Currently, a division winner is guaranteed no worse than a No. 4 seed in the postseason. The league planned to do away with that format but now might take it a step further and make division winners finish the regular season in the top eight to advance to the playoffs.
“First of all, it’s never happened before that a division winner did not finish within the top eight, and our basketball analytics folks calculate that there’s less than a 5 percent chance that it would happen,” Silver said.
“Where we’re leaning right now is that we would not guarantee a spot for a division winner in part because it’s so unlikely to happen, and No. 2 if it does happen it would be potentially confusing to fans. No. 3, you would be displacing a team that did have a top-eight record.”
The system was criticized during the playoffs this year when the Portland Trail Blazers received a No. 4 seed as the Northwest Division winner in the Western Conference, forcing a first-round matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. Based on records, the Blazers would have been the sixth seed in the conference.
“So while we’re going to continue to discuss it a little bit more — we need to make a decision before the preseason begins — I think the greater likelihood is we will not be guaranteeing a spot to a division winner,” Silver said.