Contrary To Popular Brief, NBA Doesn’t Require Teams To Play A Single Preseason Game

October 10, 2024

The NBA preseason is like the Wild West of scheduling — a rare spot in the league where teams have the freedom to make their own rules, as detailed in a fantastic piece by Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

This is interesting because several years ago I asked a member of the league’s front office about preseason scheduling, and he just came out and said it.

“We don’t require any of our teams to play preseason games,” the source wrote in an email.

As Vorkunov wrote, the regular season is a finely-tuned machine, crafted by computers and number-crunchers who run through billions of iterations. But the preseason? That’s a different story. It’s a blend of relationships, geography, and good old-fashioned deals made behind closed doors.

Again, teams don’t even have to play games if they don’t want. The league doesn’t require a minimum, only a maximum of six. Everything else is up to the franchises.

They trade preseason games like stockbrokers on the floor, each looking for the perfect balance between preparation, fan engagement, and, of course, business, Vorkunov wrote. Sometimes it’s about staying close to home, keeping travel costs down. Other times, it’s about making sure ownership is happy, like when the Pistons decided to host the Suns on Michigan State’s campus to honor Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s homecoming.

Even big-market teams like the Lakers and Warriors get creative. The Lakers are playing six games in five different arenas, while the Warriors finally worked out training camp in Hawaii after years of trying.

Relationships drive the entire thing, whether it’s executives making quick deals or franchises offering buy games to fill a spot, Vorkunov wrote.

The preseason may be less polished than the regular season, but it’s just as important. Teams use it to fine-tune their rosters, build chemistry, and give fans a taste of what’s to come.

And while it’s a little messy, it’s also a reminder that, for all the league’s polish, there’s still room for a bit of unpredictability, as Vorkunov detailed.