Picture this: a scenario where the best teams in the league reach the knockout stages of a tournament. A pretty straightforward concept, right?
For too long, there has been an imbalance in the strength of conferences in the NBA, resulting in teams with superior records not being afforded the chance to compete for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Doesn’t this go against the teaching of all sports? Where, if you put in the work and win, you are rewarded?
The NBA SHOULD ELIMINATE CONFERENCES, and it should have done so yesterday.
Tradition should never prevent furthering the game.
Conferences exist-but their heartbeat has flatlined.
Sure, it worked in the 1970s, a period in which travel was expensive and coast-to-coast trips were taxing, physically, mentally and financially for teams and players. They helped balance the league and provide less travel time, and ensured that teams would play predominantly within their geographical proximity. This helped local fans have access to more games.
But here’s a list of other things from the 70s that also made sense then:
Smoking was permitted everywhere: aeroplanes, hospitals, even schools. Seatbelts in cars weren’t mandatory. Casual sexism in media wasn’t just tolerated- it was used as punchlines in TV and a tool of advertisement. I mean, just look at the NBA shorts development too. (below)
Teams fly private flights, sports streaming is global, and with the click of a button, you can watch any game from anywhere in the world. The rapid ascension of player empowerment in the NBA has also coincided with a rise in player movements across teams, dragging fans along with them in the process. So, the East vs West divide seems arbitrary.
Yet, this Neolithic tradition has resulted in the league clinging to a broken system.
In the last 18 seasons, the Western Conference has had a higher average win total amongst its 15 teams in 17 of them. For the upcoming season, the projection by bookies shows the West to have a +2.6-win differential over Eastern sides.
You could be wondering; Why does all this matter?
Well, according to the Simple Rating System, which considers the point differential and strength of schedule, the Western teams since 2000 have an SRS of 4.19 to the East’s 1.99.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/indexba52.html?p=39
Simply put, a 7th seed West side is the strength equivalent to a 3rd seed in the East.
In the last ten years alone (2014-15 onwards), because of the imbalance in conference strength, there have been almost eight teams in the West alone (four more in the East) that would have made the playoffs had it not been for conferences, including a Denver Nuggets team in 2017-18 that won 46 games. What would have been the 6th best in the East instead of 9th in the West.Â
The argument can be made that eliminating conferences increases the travel time and jet lag for teams in the playoffs in comparison to the already existing structure. This in turn, increases the amount of mileage and carbon emissions that the league would generate. Furthermore, it could also take away from the historical aspect of East vs West rivalries like the Celtics vs the Lakers. All of which are embedded into the historical narrative and aspect of the league. Such a drastic change could, in its own way, rewrite history. As well as affecting the way the league has been set up already, as its scheduling and economy have been set in place and long been built around conference play.Â
While all these concerns are inherently valid to a degree, they aren’t insurmountable. Modern travel makes this seemingly ‘monumental roadblock’ a simple hurdle to leap over. It has never been easier for a team from Boston to travel to California than it is now. Adding to that, the NBA leasing 13 customised VIP Airbus aircraft for the teams has made it even easier to travel across the States. Teams frequently travel to different countries to play each other now in Paris, Berlin and London. So the excuse for flight and travel holding back these teams simply shouldn’t have any validity now. Scheduling can also be tinkered to limit the amount of back and forth travelling a team would do.
Similarly, the 3-point shot we have now has revolutionised the way the game was even imagined. Eliminating conferences will pose the same results. There is no two ways about it.
Erasing tradition and current schemes does not mean eliminating history but building on the game to ensure fairness at all costs. Maintaining the integrity of sports, winning should never be penalised. No matter where you play or where you’re from, let’s choose evolution. Let’s choose merit. Let’s choose to abolish conferences now.
