Sports leagues around the world are always looking for ways to improve the quality of their games, and the NBA is no different. With that said, there are a few proposals that could become controversial in terms of shortening the game.

One of the items the NBA is looking at is the length of overtime. As it stands right now, overtime is five additional minutes, and the games will go as many extra periods as needed to determine a winner.

Here's part of what the league is proposing, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

Per Pincus: “Another potential change could be the use of a target score, but just for overtime. The G League has experimented with the rule in overtime during the regular season and for fourth quarters during the Winter Showcase in Las Vegas. In comparing regular overtime from the 2021-22 season to target-score overtime pre-Showcase, the length dipped from 13 minutes on average to 8.5.”

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The NBA has experimented with the target score format in the past, but it was for the last few All-Star Games. The rule change created a little excitement to finish the glorified scoring exhibitions.

Would this rule change be controversial? It would depend on who is asked, but if this is implemented, it would follow a trend of leagues trying to shorten the length of their games. In MLB, a pitch clock has been adapted to shorten the amount of time between pitches.

It would be hard to notice a significant change if the minutes trimmed is under 10, but every minute counts, and the NBA could follow MLB's lead soon.