Why a 1-16 Playoff Format Could Transform the NBA

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We explore why the NBA should change its playoff format from the current conference-based system to a true 1-16 seeding regardless of East or West. This change would create better matchups, make the regular season more meaningful, and ensure the best teams make the playoffs.

• Current format separates Eastern and Western conferences with 8 teams from each making playoffs, plus play-in teams
• NBA has changed playoff formats multiple times since the inaugural 1947-48 season
• A 1-16 format would create exciting potential matchups like OKC vs Hawks (Shai vs Trae Young or teams like the Clippers vs Pacers)
• Conference-based playoffs limit cross-country travel but more entertaining matchups outweigh this concern
• Regular season would become more important with teams competing for top 16 spots overall
• Play-in tournament should be eliminated as it rewards teams that weren't good enough in regular season
• Better matchups would lead to higher viewership and a superior basketball product

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
What's up everybody.
It's your favorite show'sfavorite show.
Get a Bucket.
I'm your host, trey, and, asusual, I hope you're all having
a wonderful, wonderful day Now.
Today we got to talk about my2025 NBA playoff format wishlist
.
But before we do that, pleasemake sure to hit that like and
subscribe button.
Comment to anyone who's anyoneabout the show, trying to get
the ratings up a little bit.
You know, just a little bit.
But, like I said, ladies andgentlemen, today we're going to

(00:22):
talk about my wishlist for theNBA playoff format, because I do
wish that it changed.
And, keep in mind, I've beensaying this since, oh my God,
like I was probably in middleschool, saying I wish we had a
different playoff format, andcurrently it's one through eight
east versus west.

(00:43):
Now we do have the play inright, which allows two more
teams the ninth and tenth seedto advance and get a chance at
playing in the playoffs.
That happened recently.
That's the playoff that wecurrently have and that's the
playoff format I have a gripewith.
Keep in mind.
Keep in mind.
I will say this year right,using this year as an example.

(01:04):
It's been decent.
We've seen some good games.
I can't hold you, however.
What if we change the playoffformat, ladies and gentlemen,
from East and West and being thetop eight seeds or top ten to
just being the top one through16 seeds.
What's wrong with that, like?
What's wrong with doing it thatway, like, let's actually look

(01:28):
at the standings from this year.
Right, I actually like this,like this listing, a little bit
better, personally, and again,this year has been entertaining,
but we got it.
We got to bring out the bestcompetition.
Ok, keep in mind, ladies andgentlemen, I do want to say this
before we start talking aboutthis Right, the first playoff

(01:48):
format, it did have East andWest teams intertwined like
combined, meaning an East andWest team played against each
other in a round that was notnamed the NBA final, named the
NBA finals.
So, if we can allow that tooccur, ladies and gentlemen,

(02:09):
there's no real history.
Yes, we have had East versusWest ever since then, like that
first inaugural season.
Yes, we've been doing Eastversus West since then, but
we've also shown that we canchange the playoff format.
Hell, we've changed the playoffformat since 1948.
Keep in mind, the inauguralseason was 1947 for the playoffs

(02:38):
.
We've also changed the formatto make it so that conference
champions people who win theirconferences or their divisions
don't get a higher seating.
So we've even showcased we caremore about the regular season
record, the overall record, thanthe division.
Why not a conference?
We want to see the best playersplay and I do understand there
are some gripes, ladies andgentlemen, with having a change

(03:03):
format being 1 through 16.
Currently, I've heard somethings like this current format
limits cross-country travel.
Right, there might beunbalanced schedule across
conferences.
I hear that Stronger teams canmiss out due to conference
strength.
You got to think about that aswell.

(03:23):
Now, this part, I will give itsome credit.
Right, like the local rivalries, those do drive viewership at
times.
I will say that, like theRockets and the Warriors I'm not
going to call that a rivalry,but they did have some battles
here and there.
Right, like Ant and Shea.
If you get to see that in theWest, that's cool, but also I

(03:43):
think we would appreciate seeingthat in the playoffs.
Right and again, ladies andgentlemen, if we look at this
one through 16, because theseare all the 16 top teams, okay,
and if we're looking at this, Isee OKC versus the Hawks, which
actually might have been alittle bit better than OKC

(04:04):
versus the Grizzlies Rememberthe Grizzlies got swept.
Hawks might have won a game,but you also get to see Shea
versus Trey.
I think that would have been agood matchup too, but then again
, though you know, the Hawkswere injured, so you know it has
.
There's some pros and cons tothis, but we get to see a
matchup in the playoff that weprobably won't see unless one of
these two players crossoverright to the other conference.

(04:25):
How about the Cavs versus theMagic?
Now, this is the Eastern versusEastern team, but the Cavs
versus the Magic y'all saw howthey battled the Celtics.
I think we would have loved tosee them battle the Cavs that
way instead of the Heat.
Now, that might be hindsight,I'll give you that, but again,
might have had betterentertainment.
The Celtics versus the PistonsAgain, another East versus East,
but Might have had betterentertainment.
The Celtics versus the PistonsAgain, another East versus East.

(04:46):
But a lot of people wanted tosee this matchup.
The Pistons ended up beingscrappy, so let's see how the
Celtics handled that matchup.
I think that would have been.
I think that would have beengood hindsight.
Let's scroll it down a littlebit.
How about?
How about y'all see, right here, the Lakers, right, I think
they would have battled myWarriors.
I'm sorry my Lakers would havebattled my Warriors.
Oh, I'm sorry my Lakers wouldhave battled the Warriors.
So if that's the case, is thatnot entertaining?

(05:08):
And keep in mind too, we couldhave said that the Lakers and
Warriors were contenders, buthell, point in time, my Lakers
aren't contenders.
Let's look at the Nuggets versusthe Wolves Again.
Ladies and gentlemen, I loveseeing this matchup, and these
are two Western teams, by theway.
So when we're talking aboutteams traveling across the

(05:29):
country, we ain't really seentoo much of that.
We've seen OKC versus the Hawks, like that one Cool.
Not too too much, though.
So me personally, like theClippers versus the Pacers.
All right, we're going to becrossing conferences right there

(05:50):
.
I'm okay with that, though,because again, that's a good
matchup.
Also, the Pacers got to battlean injury riddled Bucs team.
They also battled injury teamslast year, injured teams last
year.
Wouldn't we want to validatethese Pacers a little bit before
the second round?
And then the Clippers they hadsome question marks too.
Now, if they're healthy,they're a scrappy team.
But again, ladies and gentlemen, both those things put together
, that would have been a goodbattle.

(06:11):
So me personally, looking at allthis.
Again, what we got I'm coolwith it's cool, it works.
But I will say what I do wantand what I've wanted for the
longest time might have been alittle bit better.

(06:31):
And again, I've talked abouthow, yeah, the cross country
traveling can be an issue.
I don't think it's going to bethat big of an issue.
And keep in mind too, it makesthe regular season more
important, because now thisregular season here, people are
actually caring about making itto that top 16 seed.
Get rid of the play-in too.
Let's not forget that, becausethat was piss poor.

(06:52):
I think that just highlightedthe fact that you weren't good
enough in the regular season oryou slacked off during the
regular season.
I know, I know, I know the Heatwouldn't have got to the finals
.
Maybe I'm okay with that,because, again, I want to see
the best teams play and thatshows during the regular season.
Who put it in the word?
We got to make the regularseason worth something and again

(07:14):
, ladies and gentlemen, ithasn't been worth something for
a while.
The All-Star game hasn't beenworth something for a while.
And I do think making the NBAplayoff format change to one
through 16, make the cutoff onethrough 16 for the playoffs.
You do a lot better.
You get a lot more viewership.

(07:34):
And the reason why?
Because you get a betterproduct.
So if I have a better product,why would I not watch it?
Like as a sports fan, as asports enthusiast, someone who
has a show, I won't watch an NBAseason that much.

(07:55):
Playoffs, just between you andmyself.
I've skipped some of those too,especially live.
They're not that entertaining.
They're cool.
They're cool.
I got to watch them, to analyzethem and you know give my takes
and whatnot.
So they're not thatentertaining.
They're cool.
They're cool.
I got to watch them, analyzethem and you know give my takes
and whatnot.
So they're cool.
Playoffs is the mostentertaining time, but changing
it from 1-16, 2-1 to 16, muchmore important for me, much

(08:16):
better result.
But again, that's my take.
I'm curious what you all thinkabout this as well, because I
have my gripes with the NBA andI'm trying to make a statement
now.
So again, that's all the timewe have, ladies and gentlemen,
for this episode, so please makesure to like, subscribe,
comment to anyone who's anyoneabout the show.

(08:38):
Drop your comments below, likeI said, and I want to hear your
thoughts.
No-transcript.