The NBA is creating a centralized instant replay center to streamline the current in-game process and could have the system in place by next season, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said the league is currently in the process of selecting a central location that will be responsible for handling instant replay calls for on-site referees to help speed up the process and remove responsibility from in-game crews.
NBA to have centralized replay system by next season, according to report
Instant replay is being used more often in NBA games, and now the league is preparing to take the next step in streamlining the process.
Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
“We plan on having it in place next year,” NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said Friday.
“What we’re in the process of doing is we’re going to create a central location where we’ll have people there who will be watching every game. When the referees go over to the side, in many instances the (central replay center) will already know what happened and they’ll be able to tell the referee, which will hopefully take less time.”
On-site referees currently handle all instant replay reviews, which elongates the length and breaks the flow of games.
There are currently a total of 14 calls that can be reviewed with, and many are only available for review in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Thorn stated that the NBA is still working out the details, but on the line calls, whether a field goal is a two-point or three-point shot and deciding who touched the ball last when a ball goes out of bounds, are all expected to be handled by the team in place at the centralized location.
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