Steve Kerr & Co. Set for Disappointment as Adam Silver Shows No Sign of Change

Be honest—how many times has this happened to you? You tune in, hyped to watch Steph Curry and the Warriors do their thing, only to realize… he’s not playing. One quick look at the injury report and there it is: “load management.” Total buzzkill. And you’re not alone—fans have been voicing this frustration for years. But despite all the backlash, don’t expect a massive shift anytime soon. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed the issue, and while he didn’t completely shut the door on changes, it’s clear the league isn’t in a rush to overhaul the current approach.

And this is despite complaints rising — not just from fans but people in the NBA. “I just think guys cover way more mileage these days than they did back then… I’m going to stay on my high horse about we play too many games. Eighty-two games, with what we’re asking from these guys, is too much,” said Dubs head coach Steve Kerr recently. His words echoed the sentiments of countless fans who are tired of seeing their favorite players go down in important games. He even wrote to the NBA about having fewer games. However, Kerr becoming the voice of the voiceless doesn’t seem to have amounted to much.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reports that Adam Silver is not onboard with reducing the number of regular-season games from 82. “Silver says he sees no reason to reduce the number of games. Says there is no data that suggests that the length of the schedule contributes to injuries,” wrote Mannix in a post on X. “I think that’s, that’s my biggest concern. And I think if there was better data or there was data that suggested that 82 games as opposed to 72 games causes more injuries, I think we would be thinking more seriously about a change,” said Silver on the Numbers on the board podcast.

And this will come as a massive disappointment to Steve Kerr and everyone else, including Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra who have wanted a reduction in the load. Now, we can’t question the validity of the science Silver is referring to here. But it doesn’t take a physician to know that back-to-back NBA games at the highest level take a toll on the human body. Especially with the way the game’s played now. The 90s and early 00s saw a game that was slower. More physical? Sure. But slower. Now, after the revolution started by Kerr’s Golden State Warriors, it’s a new landscape.

However, despite Adam Silver’s claim that there’s no data to support shortening the regular season, reports from NBC Sports tell a different story. Teams playing the second game of a back-to-back suffer a 9% drop in win rate—a statistically significant decline that impacts the outcome of numerous games each year.

Historically, the only shortened seasons in the modern NBA era have come not from scheduling reform, but from labor disputes. The most recent lockout took place ahead of the 2011–12 season. Instead of tipping off in late October, the season began on December 25, reducing the total number of games from 82 to 66.

As teams try to emulate the off-the-ball movement introduced by Stephen Curry tormenting defenders, the game is played at a higher intensity. High-octane offense and constant switching are the name of the game now. However, the league didn’t track player speed and distance before 2013-14. So, we can’t really compare it to the era that came before.

But don’t think the NBA commissioner is entirely closed off to the possibility of a shorter NBA season. In fact, Silver says that nothing is “off the table” when it comes to this subject.

Adam Silver did entertain the possibility of a shorter NBA season

Upon reading it, you may think this was a few years ago during the pandemic. But no, the NBA Commissioner joined the Numbers on the Board podcast to discuss the NBA. Yes, the very same one where he made his above comments. But before saying that there was no data to support the validity of an 82-game season, he said something else. See, the host asked Silver if an 82-game season was too traditional to get rid of at this point.

But rather surprisingly, after reiterating how important tradition is, he also said that change is crucial for any business. “I think tradition is very important. You do have to change with the times. And that’s been my approach to most things here, which is nothing’s off the table. I wouldn’t say, some people say, ‘Well, you can’t change [the] number of games or the format of the games because it’ll impact the historical records.’ I mean, I think just with any business, you have to be willing to change if appropriate and not just be wedded to the past,” said Adam Silver.

Mixed signals, eh? On one end, it seems Adam Silver wants to entertain the possibility of the NBA season being around 70 games. However, in the same breath, he went on to explain why he and the league have stuck with the 82-game season. So, will the NBA ever see a shortened season like we saw during the pandemic? Who knows? But as long as head honchos like Adam Silver keep an open mind — anything’s possible!