The NBA coach’s challenge will become a permanent part of the game — and with zero changes this year.
Plus, in a time when players will be missing games due to COVID-19, the active rosters on game day will expand to 15 for this season.
The NBA’s Competition Committee — a mix of coaches, GMs, and league officials — voted on both of those rules for the upcoming season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. Both also need to be approved by a vote of the owners (the Board of Governors), but that will be a formality.
Sources: The NBA Competition Committee has unanimously recommended to expand the active roster list from dressing 13 players to 15 for games in upcoming season. The Board of Governors are slated to meet Dec. 17 to approve the change.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 12, 2020
NBA officially adopting coach's challenge as part of competition, but rules remain status quo. Two common suggestions were: Award second challenge if first was successful; or team retains timeout following successful challenge. League evaluating potential modifications in future. https://t.co/f6q8FmiOi4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 12, 2020
It’s a little surprising the committee didn’t tweak the coach’s challenge rule — if a coach challenges and wins it, he should not forfiet the right to challenge anything for the rest of the game. That has never been fair, but it will be the challenge system for another season.
The expanded rosters was expected, with the league providing coaches options to help get through a season with a condensed schedule and where teams will inevitably have players out due to COVID-19. No surprise that the vote was unanimous.
