Bill Simmons Blasts Adam Silver Over 82-Game Schedule and Player Injuries

Bill Simmons publicly accused NBA Commissioner Adam Silver of negligence and greed over the league’s 82-game regular season schedule.

The Ringer founder made his case on Tuesday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”

His argument centered on the league’s refusal to shorten the season to 70 games.

“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.

He went further.

“You’re ruining your players … and you’re hurting careers, and you’re shortening careers,” Simmons said.

“This should be a 70-game season.”

Simmons argued that virtually everyone inside the game agrees.

“And if you talk to literally everybody who plays basketball, all of them would say the season needs to be shorter,” he said.

“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 has maintained an 82-game regular season since the 1967-68 season.

The only exceptions have been seasons shortened by labor disputes or other disruptions.

Simmons tied the schedule issue directly to a wave of early-season injuries.

Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing without Jalen Williams, who had surgery on a fractured left fibula.

Chet Holmgren is also out for the Thunder, recovering from a small patellar tendon tear.

Paolo Banchero and Ja Morant are among the other stars sidelined early in the 2026-27 season.

Fans are buying tickets and NBA League Pass subscriptions expecting to see those players.

Instead, they are finding out those stars will not be available.

The NBA’s injury era is becoming an increasingly difficult sell.

Simmons connected the refusal to shorten the schedule to the league’s upcoming expansion plans.

The NBA has 30 franchises.

Adding teams in Las Vegas and Seattle would mark the league’s first expansion since the Charlotte Bobcats joined in 2004.

Those expansion fees are central to Simmons’ argument.

“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,” Simmons said.

He estimated the total at roughly $16 billion in expansion fees for the league’s current owners.

In March 2026, the New York Post reported that expansion fees could range from $7 billion to $10 billion per team.

Those fees go directly to the NBA’s current owners rather than being shared with the players.

Cutting 12 games from each team’s schedule would mean fewer home dates.

Fewer home dates means fewer opportunities to sell tickets and concessions.

Simmons questioned why the league would prioritize that revenue over player health.

The criticism arrives as Silver is reportedly considering a different kind of change.

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix said on the SI Open Floor podcast that he has heard Silver is warm to cutting NBA games from 48 minutes to 40.

“I actually think Adam Silver, from what I’ve heard … likes the idea of 40-minute games,” Mannix said.

“I mean, Adam’s a globalist when it comes to basketball, but I just don’t see financially how it’s feasible. And I also think, like I said, it’s not going to affect the minutes of stars.”

Olympic and college basketball games already run 40 minutes.

Silver addressed the idea on The Dan Patrick Show on January 29, 2025.

“I am a fan of four, 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure that many others are … putting aside what it means for records and things like that. I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits,” Silver said at the time.

He did not present it as imminent.

“It’s such a dramatic change to the game. … Something like that would have to be talked more about over time,” he said.

Fans pushed back hard on the 40-minute idea after Mannix’s remarks spread.

One fan responded directly: “Stupid. Stop messing with the history of the game.”

Another fan raised concerns about roster depth.

“Personally, I hate the idea of shortening games. It causes players to lose money and jobs, and it would shift the game back a little too heavy into relying on star players. You’re also not necessarily cutting minutes by that much for star players, you’re mainly cutting out that 9th and 10th man while marginally reducing minutes for starting players,” that fan wrote.

Another fan focused on the record book.

“This is atrocious. It would completely mess with stats and records,” they wrote.

Simmons’ criticism of Silver is unusually direct for a prominent media figure.

He accused the commissioner of not caring about the players.