The NBA makes its money game by game. The league packs arenas with thousands of fans 41 times a year. Each game results in good revenue for the teams. The league and its owners would be left with less money and a drier product if there were no day games. The question that many people ask is, “Why are there so few day games in the NBA?”
Until last season, there were no day games. This was due to the NBA’s controversial decision to make games only during the day. Earlier this year, the league extended its regular season by one week, making it 176 days long. This resulted in eliminating a fourth night game for the first time in NBA history. In the playoffs, the league also had two sets of two-day breaks. In total, this cut the schedule by ten games.
The NBA is far bigger than the NHL, but the games are shorter than the NHL. The league’s schedule is designed to be efficient both from a competitive and travel standpoint. In addition, out-of-division conference teams play only three times each season. In the end, this format is ideal for star-driven leagues. That being said, there are a few reasons why there are so few day games in the NBA.
There is more than one reason for why the NBA schedule has so few day games. For one, it’s a time when the league needs to clear a slot in its schedule. The schedule needs to be modified in order to accommodate a local tournament. With so few games scheduled during the day, the NBA has to make up for it in other ways. If the NBA had no day games, it would make the playoffs less competitive.