Adam Silver Slammed for "Ruining Players" Over 82-Game NBA Schedule

Bill Simmons called out NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, labeling the league’s 82-game regular season schedule ‘inexcusable and semi-reprehensible’ during an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.

Simmons, the founder of The Ringer, directed his criticism squarely at Silver and the league’s owners.

‘Listen, I don’t know how many times I’ve talked about this on the pod about the schedule and about how this, to me, is just inexcusable and semi-reprehensible that whoever is in charge of the league, which I think is Adam Silver these days, that he doesn’t care,’ Simmons said.

The NBA has maintained an 82-game regular season since the 1967-68 season, with exceptions only for seasons shortened by labor disputes or other disruptions.

‘You’re ruining your players … and you’re hurting careers, and you’re shortening careers,’ Simmons continued.

‘This should be a 70-game season.’

‘And if you talk to literally everybody who plays basketball, all of them would say the season needs to be shorter.’

‘And if you don’t do it at this point, I just think it’s negligent.’

‘I really do.’

‘I think it’s actual negligence and greed.’

The NBA currently operates with 30 franchises.

The league is exploring expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle, which would mark its first expansion since the Charlotte Bobcats joined the league in 2004.

In March, the NBA’s board of governors voted unanimously to explore expansion in both cities, with both teams potentially taking the court for the 2028-29 season.

The league also retained an investment bank to evaluate the markets, arenas, potential ownership groups and other economic factors.

Simmons tied the schedule issue directly to expansion fees.

‘The question for me is, you’re gonna make all this money … that’s gonna be $9.5 billion for the [Las Vegas] expansion team …

They’re gonna get a second thing from Seattle, which is gonna be $7.5 (billion), something like that,’ he said.

‘So all these owners are getting, I don’t know, $16 billion in expansion fees.’

Those figures are Simmons’ estimates.

In March, the New York Post reported that expansion fees could range from $7 billion to $10 billion per team, with the money going to the NBA’s current owners rather than being shared with players.

Cutting 12 games from each team’s schedule would reduce the number of home dates for each franchise, which would mean fewer opportunities to sell tickets and concessions.

Simmons questioned why the league would resist shortening the season given the financial windfall from expansion.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson is set to meet virtually with Silver on Thursday, marking at least the third meeting between the two this year.

Ferguson has been pushing to bring the SuperSonics back to Seattle, a city that has been without an NBA franchise since the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.

‘I still remain optimistic,’ Ferguson said during a press conference at the state Capitol.

‘I follow the same news that you do, you know, about what’s going on with Las Vegas and Seattle.’

Silver has said the league hopes to resolve the expansion discussion by the end of the year.

In March, Silver said there is ‘absolutely a chance’ that expansion does not occur, or could only occur in one city.

Fans reacting to the latest meeting between Ferguson and Silver expressed skepticism.

‘Well that seals it…

Sonics ain’t comin’ back,’ one fan wrote.

Another fan added, ‘It’s over.’

‘Oh, we’re doomed,’ a third fan commented.

One observer wrote, ‘We all know there is zero chance of the Sonics coming back to this mess of a state.’

Other reactions focused on what Ferguson could accomplish during the meeting.

‘Don’t screw this up, please,’ a fan remarked.

Another made a direct appeal to the governor, telling him to ‘bring it home.’

The NBA has not publicly responded to Simmons’ comments.

The league’s schedule has been a point of contention for years, with players and coaches frequently citing fatigue and injury concerns over the 82-game format.

The debate over game length has also surfaced recently, with Silver facing backlash over an idea to shorten NBA games to 40 minutes, matching the WNBA’s game length.

Simmons’ criticism adds to the growing chorus of voices questioning Silver’s leadership on schedule management and player health.

The question of whether the NBA will shorten its season remains open, with no formal proposal currently on the table.

Silver has not indicated any willingness to reduce the number of regular-season games.

The expansion process continues to move forward, with the league’s investment bank evaluating both markets.

Should Seattle and Las Vegas join the league, the NBA would expand from 30 to 32 teams.

An expansion team is reportedly expected to pay between $7 billion and $10 billion to join the league.