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The NBA needs to change the playoff format
A view of an NBA basketball and the NBA logo. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The NBA needs to change the playoff format

By Bryan Eglesia  |  Last updated Jun 7, 2025 3:20 PM ET

The NBA has a dilemma that could potentially damage its relationship between franchises, their players, and their fans. 

They are trying to walk a fine line between having the best on-court product and trying to make as much profit as possible. 

The issue is that they are trying to appease multiple groups simultaneously, and it’s virtually impossible to keep everyone happy.

The NBA needs to change the format of the playoffs to either lengthen the time in between playoff games or give teams more of a rest before the playoffs begin. More rest is key for players to be at their best. 

Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams spoke before the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers about never complaining about rest. 

“I feel sharp, I feel good. Chet (Holmgren) said it earlier. You can never really complain about days off in the NBA, especially when you get this far into the season. You can use it to recover, get your mind right, do all that. We took advantage of that it.”

Injuries are inevitable in sports. This notion that injuries are uncontrollable is false. If players have a proper amount of rest before and during the playoffs, there might not be as many injuries during the playoffs as there were this year.

There have been an abnormal number of injuries in this year's playoffs to prominent players: Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Aaron Gordon, and Jimmy Butler, and it has negatively affected the product as a whole. 

A few solutions that the NBA could look into are starting the season earlier, giving teams a bye week during the season, or giving teams more rest before the playoffs.

Many players and coaches in the NBA have spoken out and are frustrated with the lack of rest before and during the playoffs. 

The grueling nature of the playoffs, resulting in more injuries to players, has taken a toll and dictated the outcomes of playoff series than the actual games themselves. 

The NBA doesn't want to lose money with playoff games, but the NBA is not producing viewers like they have in the past and it shows with the ratings of the first game of the 2025 NBA Finals. 

The reality of the situation is that the NBA is a star-driven league and a market-driven league. Viewers want to watch players they know, Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and teams they love to love or love to hate. 

With the worst ratings of a Game 1 of the NBA Finals since Neilsen  started tracking viewership ratings, the NBA needs to make changes to its playoff format and find a way to give players and teams more rest so prominent players can remain healthy and on the court to get the best product possible.

Bryan Eglesia

Bryan Egleisa is a content producer located in the Bay Area, California. As a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He focuses on the Golden State Warriors & the NBA

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