Adam Silver said on Wednesday that he was open to the idea of 10-minute quarters in the NBA. 

The idea would put the NBA in line with how long Olympic basketball and FIBA games are, both of which have 10-minute quarters. 

The topic came up during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday. 

“Something else that I’m a fan of—and I’m probably in the minority—as we get more involved in global basketball… the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes. I am a fan of four 10-minute quarters,” he said. “I’m not sure that many others are. Putting aside what it means for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits. People in arenas aren’t asking us to shorten games, but I think as a television program, Olympic basketball is two hours, college basketball is of course 40 minutes.”

The NBA commish noted that the shortening of the game would probably be welcomed by viewers at home and could better align with people’s viewing habits. 

He was realistic that it would take a “dramatic change” and is something that would need to be explored over time. 

Silver also believed that it could help with load management issue. 

“Incidentally, if you went to a 40-minute game, with the minutes around load management and resting, it would be the equivalent of — I don’t know the exact math — taking like 15 games off the season,” Silver said. “And I don’t think most fans would be disappointed if it was a two-hour presentation instead of a — our game is actually about two hours and 15 minutes now.”

The NBA has shown an openness to change over the years, which has included the additions of the play-in tournament and the Emirates NBA Cup.