The NBA is constantly changing, trying to find new ways to improve the game of basketball as well as grow its business. Over the last five years, there have been multiple changes, both good and bad, that the NBA has implemented. In this article, we'll break down both the positives and the negatives of these recent changes, and assign an overall grade for each change.
The Play-In Tournament (2020): B+
Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; The NBA Logo for the Play-In Tournament on the goalpost for the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
NBA: Play-In-Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies
Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The NBA first introduced the play-in tournament in 2020 as a way to give teams that were on the brink of elimination a shot at making the playoffs despite the shortened season. The 2021 season was also shortened after the 2020 season, so the play-in tournament was in use again in 2021. Despite a regular lengthened 2022 season, the NBA decided to use the play-in tournament format again. Three months later, on July 22, 2022, the NBA Board of Governors officially made the play-in tournament permanent.
There are both pros and cons that come from this relatively new play-in tournament. The first positive is that more lottery teams have a better chance at making the playoffs, leading to less tanking for those lottery teams. NBA teams that are in the 10-11 seed range late in the season now have a much better opportunity to make the playoffs by reaching the play-in tournament. This discourages these teams from tanking, which is what those seeds would normally be doing without the play-in tournament.
The other positive of the play-in tournament is that we get single-elimination, high-stakes basketball games. Two of the best play-in games came in 2021, which included the Lakers defeating the Warriors in a tight 103-100 battle, and then the Grizzlies defeating the Warriors in a 117-112 overtime game. Both of those games were highly competitive and felt almost like playoff game 7 matches.
There are also negative effects as a result of the NBA play-in tournament. The first negative is that the team that grinded to solidify a 7th seed could lose just two games, and then their season is over. While that hasn't happened so far in the tournament history, it could happen in the future.
The other negative is that play-in teams have to play more games**,** which leads to more injuries and player fatigue. For example, this last season, the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies lost to the 7th-seeded Golden State Warriors, then defeated the Mavericks in the next play-in game to reach the playoffs and face the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unlike the 1-6 seeded teams that were in the playoffs, the Grizzlies got no rest in the week before the playoffs as they were grinding through their critical play-in games. By game 3 in their series vs. the Thunder, Ja Morant went down with a hip contusion injury. That injury has a higher probability of happening when a person's body is fatigued and tired. Morant's hip contusion possibly could not have happened if the play-in tournament didn't exist and he was better rested.
In-Game Flopping Technical Fouls (2023): A
Apr 15, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (1) makes a basket while being fouled by Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) in the second quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (1) makes a basket while being fouled by Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III.
Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
In 2023, the NBA took a much-needed stand against flopping by introducing automatic technical fouls for in-game flopping violations. This move was a major win for the league’s effort to clean up gameplay and protect the integrity of competition.
Flopping has been one of the most annoying and criticized issues in the modern NBA. Players exaggerating contact to draw fouls not only slows down the game but can lead to incorrect foul calls as well. The new automatic technical fouls act as a deterrent to force players to think twice before committing a flop.
The only issue is that the NBA has been somewhat hesitant on fully implementing this rule. Flopping is still a frequent occurrence in the NBA, despite having this rule in place for two seasons now. The issue isn't the rule; it's how often NBA referees are enforcing it. If the NBA were to enforce the rule harder, it could possibly stop the flopping issue.
This change deserves an A for the idea of this rule, regardless of the fact that they haven't implemented it enough. When flopping technical fouls are called, it results in a better basketball, better competition, and more respect for the game.
Adding More Awards (2022-2023): B-
May 29, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after winning the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy after game seven of the 2022 eastern conference finals at FTX Arena.
Jayson Tatum wins Eastern Conference Finals MVP after defeating the Miami Heat.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
From 2022 to 2023, the NBA added multiple new awards to their league, including the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP, Clutch Player of the Year, and the Maurice Pololoff Award (for the team with the best regular season record).
The conference finals MVPs make comparing different players' accolades across eras even more difficult, since players pre-2022 didn't have the opportunity to win a conference finals MVP like today's stars now have. The reason it was added was to shine a light on the players with the best conference finals series, but it's hard to see this award as being very important or necessary to add.
The Clutch Player of the Year award makes more sense. Having a player with great clutch ability can be the key to teams winning close games. While it isn't as important as other awards like the MVP, DPOY, and 6th Man of the Year, the Clutch Player of the Year isn't a bad addition.
The Maurice Pololoff Award was also added in the 2022-2023 season to award the team with the best regular season record. The reason why the NBA added this award is somewhat unclear. Did they add it to try to encourage teams to try harder in the regular season? The goal of the regular season is for teams to put themselves in the best playoff situation to have home-court advantage and play lower seeds in the aspiration to win a championship. Having the best regular season record is impressive, but there isn't a good reason to make an award for it since the real award is getting home court advantage and facing lower seeds in the playoffs.
These new trophies don't do much harm, but most of them aren't necessary. With that reasoning, adding these new awards to the league receives a B- grade.
The Minimum Game Requirement for Award Eligibility (2023): A
May 14, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) gestures with the KIA NBA MVP trophy to his teammates before game five against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic gestures with the KIA NBA MVP trophy to his teammates before game five against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Starting in the 2023-24 season, the NBA implemented a rule that a player needed to play in at least 65 games in the regular season to be eligible to receive votes for season awards and All-NBA teams.
This rule was put into place to address some teams resting their star players during regular season games, which is also known as load management. It has put more emphasis on the regular season and has also encouraged elite players to play more often in order to be eligible for their potential awards. Some star players have in their contracts that they'd get paid more money if they make an All-NBA team, so being eligible for those awards is a major incentive.
This new rule is a positive for the NBA in multiple ways, and has been a success so far. NBA stars are playing far more when they are on the brink of missing the game requirement. In addition to the stars playing more, if a player misses more than 17 games in a season, their impact on their team that season likely wasn't impactful enough to be a good candidate for an award. This was a very good change.
The NBA In-Season Tournament (2023): C
Nov 24, 2023; New York, New York, USA; General view of the in-season tournament court logo during warmups before a game between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden.
Nov 24, 2023; New York, New York, USA; General view of the in-season tournament court logo during warmups before a game between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The NBA introduced the In-Season Tournament in 2023 as a way to bring more excitement to the regular season and give players an extra incentive to compete early in the year. The event featured group-stage games that counted toward regular-season standings, followed by a single-elimination knockout round, with the semifinals and finals held in Las Vegas.
While the inaugural run brought some fresh energy as a result of the Lakers winning the first NBA Cup, the tournament still felt forced. The Lakers were known to hang only championship banners in their arena, but they surprisingly hung their In-Season Tournament banner, which created speculation that the NBA forced them to hang it to increase the feeling of importance of the tournament.
Most teams and fan bases didn't feel the games really mattered more than the normal regular-season games, outside of the prize money for winning the trophy. It has come off more like a marketing experiment than a truly meaningful addition to the NBA calendar.
It almost feels like the NBA has put more effort into marketing the In-Season Tournament than the actual NBA finals, and having two championship trophies in one season feels odd. The tournament feels more like an attempt to make money than a logical addition to the season. The NBA In-Season Tournament unfortunately receives a poor grade of a C.
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