NBA Rumors: Expansion could force league to change playoff format forever

NBA Rumors: As the NBA moves toward expansion, it could open the door to change the league's playoff format forever.

Even though the league has not completely committed to it just yet, there's a general consensus that expansion is coming to the NBA - and likely sooner rather than later. In fact, at the start of the season, there were rumors about a potential target date for the likely expansion teams and two early favorites of cities that could be in line to get a team. While there's still a process that needs to take place, the momentum does appear to be pointing toward expansion taking place at some point soon.

That excitement aside, it's natural to be curious about what other impacts expansion could have on a league. Sure, it could change the way conferences align, as we've seen in the past. But for the NBA, there could even be more at stake. According to some speculation across the league, there are some executives who believe that expansion will give the NBA the right opportunity to change the league's playoff format altogether.

A potential new NBA Playoff format

In one potential scenario, instead of the top 16 teams being determined by the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, the league could move in a direction where the top 16 teams overall, despite conferences, would make the playoffs. It's been a point of discussion in recent years as the NBA looks toward overseas leagues to gain influence in how to better the product for the future.

If the league is going to add two or three teams, which has been rumored, this could also be a good time for the NBA to experiment in other areas. It wouldn't be that outlandish for the league to pivot in this direction, especially considering how it does make the most sense. Generally in the NBA, there have been times when either the West or East have been the much more dominant conference. When it comes to playoff seeding based on conference, there are usually good teams that end up on the outside looking in.

Even though the NBA Play-In Tournament has helped solve that issue to a certain extent, there could still be a natural desire to move away from conventional conferences to dictate playoff format and seeding. After all, at the end of the day, the league would be in favor of the best teams making the playoffs. This could be the easiest way - and path - toward making that happen. At the very least, it's something to keep an eye on as the league moves closer to an expansion era.