Sports fans of all genres have plenty of reason to celebrate the month of November. Football is in full swing and the playoff picture has begun to take shape. Baseball is thankfully over, although, this year’s Fall Classic was exceptionally entertaining. Basketball season has finally arrived and avid followers of the NBA widely recognize the first few weeks of the campaign as forgettable, since notable players use the time to play themselves into shape after extended summer vacations. It’s also a time when coaches attempt to establish a rhythm for what will be a long season; they experiment with their rosters and rotations in hopes of finding the best combinations of players and also use this time to develop newly-acquired players.
While some competitions succeed in keeping audiences captivated until time expires, others are all but over with plenty of time still on the clock. Tuning into a game with only a few minutes remaining can be revealing in terms of the talent on display, as this essentially represents the product being offered. At the end of close games, star players rise to the occasion, overrated ones buckle under the pressure, and emerging talents make a name for themselves. On more than a few nights, however, a different product altogether is made available for fans near the conclusion of non-competitive matchups—it’s called garbage time.
What is Garbage Time?
Garbage time occurs during the waning minutes of a basketball game (and other sports) where a team holds an insurmountable lead over its competitor compelling one of the teams to substitute its starting players for bench players and those who normally see limited playing time.
For professional players, these minutes are valuable for a variety of reasons. Starting players are given an opportunity to rest at end of games and avoid the possibility of injury. For reserve players, garbage time can mean the difference between earning a contract—and by extension, a living in basketball—or failing to make the roster altogether.
The Issue
The average margin of victory during the 2023-2024 NBA regular season was 12.6 points, with over 32% of contests ending in blowouts of 15 points or more (Basketball Reference). This disparity in scores of games by players pursuing individual goals during inconsequential late-game periods, has resulted in a diminished level of entertainment for a significant portion of the fanbase.
This problem is only exacerbated by the varying agendas of players sharing the court. Some players favor any course of action that expedites their ability to hit the lockers. These are the guys who let the clock run out, and because of some unwritten rule, get upset if you score on them. Other players are either unaware of or agnostic to the idea of squandering scoring opportunities. These are the ‘disrespectful’ ones who will shoot open three-pointers from anywhere on the court and will attempt exhibition-style dunks at the expense of any player in the vicinity of the rim.
Ways to Improve Garbage Time
Consumers of NBA basketball expect to be entertained or, at least, spared from the agony of a game. This opens the possibility of several options.
Make point differential an official part of the game. Take a page from the In-Season Tournament and give teams an incentive to score as many points as they can. This would take the hurt feelings out of garbage time and make games competitive until the final buzzer.
Allow losing teams to take the L. The average NBA arena has an attendance of over 18,000. As a partial “our bad” and refund of the time spent watching a non-competitive game, fans should be afforded the dignity of leaving the area en masse without being shamed for giving up their team, especially when their team failed to show up in the first place. The coach of the losing side should be enabled to use a timeout at the 3-minute mark, approach the scorer’s table, and render the game over. This would protect players from the possible risk of injury, save nearly 900 hours of combined time for fans in attendance and possibly thousands of additional hours when factoring in viewers at home.
Above all the gimmicks, manufactured rivalries, and other marketing strategies used to draw in viewership, fans deserve their money’s worth. At least 68% of the time, NBA basketball remains an exciting watch as the games feature an ensemble of the world’s best players within a single sport, unrivaled by any other sporting league. At minimum, each game offers exciting sequences of athletic superiority where competition is at its peak and either team seems poised to win the matchup. Enjoy these fleeting moments while they last, and if the score gets out of hand, you can always beat the traffic home.
