The NBA is usually a league that likes to stay ahead of the curve and during David Stern’s time they did that more often than not. Now that it will be Adam Silver’s turn to run the show starting next season, he is considering the idea of doing away with divisions altogether:
“As David said, the league is in such great shape. I mean, Steve (Kerr) and I were talking basketball the other night out in Brooklyn and [he] raised the same question with me about whether divisions have outlived their usefulness. One thing I have learned from David over all those years…one thing he taught me and all of my colleagues at the NBA is every day we should wake up and take a fresh look at everything we do. And I think divisions fall into that category. Obviously historically, based on geography in terms of weighted schedule and convenience of travel, the goal was to enhance rivalries and I’m not sure if that’s still what’s happening and so that’s something I’m sure that the competition committee, when it next meets, will be taking a fresh look at.”
Considering the league plays a balanced schedule anyway, the idea of divisions has become antiquated for the league. Also consider that rivalries would still thrive outside of a division format and there really is no reason to keep them. The biggest benefit for the fans though could be having the top 8 teams regardless of division make the playoffs so you don’t have the under .500 Celtics hosting a playoff series.