LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James thinks the NBA playoffs format is just fine, and talk of tweaking it is misguided.
“I think our league has been built the right way as far as when it comes to the post-season,” James said Wednesday after the Cavaliers’ first practice since the All-Star break.
Western Conference teams have won three of the last four NBA titles, the Cavaliers the only Eastern interlopers in 2016.
The Golden State Warriors won in 2015 and 2017 – beating the Cavs both times – and the San Antonio Spurs won in 2014.
During the All-Star break NBA commissioner Adam Silver said there had been discussions in the league office about changing the format – perhaps by taking the top eight teams from each conference but re-seeding them 1-16 by overall record or, more dramatically, taking the top 16 regular-season teams regardless of conference.
“It just changes the landscape of the history of the game,” James said.