How is the NBA schedule made? Rules and formula

The NBA released its full schedule for the 2023-24 season back on 18 August. The 78th NBA regular season tips off on Tuesday 24 October 2023 and will conclude on Sunday 14 April 2024.

Setting out the regular season schedule is a long and complex algorithm that takes carefully constructed rules and regulations into account while trying to slide each of the 30 teams in the right slot with the right timing. NBA president of League Operations Byron Spruell likened the task to “putting together a big puzzle”.

Avoid conflicts with other events

The idea behind the scheduling is to give each team a competitive balance and reduce costs of road trips. While doing this, the league has to take into account every franchises 41 home games and 41 away games throughout the year, while keeping in mind stadium availability.

All of the stadiums around the league are multipurpose venues which are frequently used for other events - not just basketball. There are 10 teams that share a stadium with NHL teams, so the home games for the hockey teams must be taken into consideration as well. There are concerts that require time not just for the night of the event, but also require time to set up the event. For example, Crypto.com Arena, home to both the Lakers and the LA Kings, is fully booked up until Christmas with events programmed for most days - including 10 concerts with Lauryn Hill, Depeche Mode and Anita Baker among those passing through.

Annual events

Then there are periods of time where an NBA team may not be able to use their home court for extended periods of time, like when the San Antonio Spurs are displaced for a three weeks in February because of the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo which infiltrates the AT&T Center. The Spurs will go on the road when next year’s rodeo takes place from 9-24 February.

Some days are off limits for NBA

Before the previous season is over, the league asks every team to provide them with a list of at least 50 dates that their home stadiums are available for the upcoming year. That list must include four Mondays and four Thursdays, the Thursdays are to ensure TNT gets a fair share of the pie when it comes to televising the biggest teams.

That list must exclude games on days where the league takes a break. Last year, the NBA decided that for the first time, there would be no games played on Election Day - that means that this year, there will be a break in the action on Tuesday 7 November to encourage the public to head to the polls.

Christmas Eve will also be an off day - but five games are lined up for Christmas Day, the 16th year running that NBA games have been programmed for the 25th. Like wise, there will be four games on Martin Luther King Jr Day, 15 January.

Likewise, basketball will take a breather for the NCAA championship game on 8 January.

The All Star game is the only time NBA players are guaranteed a few days off, if they aren’t participating in All-Star weekend. There is about four for five days where the NBA takes a respite as the games biggest players are showcased for the All-Star Game. The 2024 event will be hosted by Indianapolis on 18 February 2024.

The break down

Once stadium availability is decided, then it’s time to adhere to the strict formula the NBA has set for each team. Each division has five opponents, so a team must play the four teams in the division four times, totaling 16 games (4x4=16) .

Four games will played against 6 conference opponents that aren’t from the same division, amounting to 24 games (4x6=24). A team will play the four remaining teams from the same conference three times each which makes 12 games (3x4=12).

The remaining 30 games of the 82 game schedule will be played against the 15 teams in the other conference. A team will play each team from the other conference twice for a total of 30 games (2x15=30).

Evan Walsh the man in charge of scheduling

Matt Winick was the Senior Vice President of Scheduling and Game Operations for more than two decades, before stepping down and allowing Evan Walsh to take over the scheduling responsibilities. One of the toughest things that he weeded out of the scheduling since taking over in 2014 was making sure teams wouldn’t have to play four games in five nights by adding another week to the schedule. This lowers the chance that a well rested team will play against a team that has had a string of consecutive games.

The 2023/24 NBA regular season is just days away so it’s time to get your sharpies out and adjust your calendars accordingly.