This season, you may have noticed NBA coaches and players twirling a finger in the air or a green light blinking atop the scorer’s table. For the first time in NBA history, head coaches now have the ability to challenge a call on the floor, and those two items are central to the process.
“Giving head coaches a voice will enhance the confidence in our replay process among teams and fans and add a new, exciting strategic element to our game,” Byron Spruell, the president of NBA operations, said after the challenge system was approved in July.
Before coach’s challenges arrived in the NBA, the league experimented with it in the G League, which, among many things, serves as a testing ground for potential game enhancements. After it was deemed successful in the G League and Summer League, it was approved by a vote and now allows each head coach one challenge per game during this one-year trial.
Initially, NBA head coaches were skeptical and…
