The Spurs postseason door will swing wide open if NBA owners get their way

The last time the San Antonio Spurs made the playoffs was back in 2019 when they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round. While the landscape of the league has changed since then, the playoff format hasn't, although that could soon change too.

The NBA is reportedly considering changing its playoff format, ditching the top eight teams in each conference concept and instead going with a much simpler one-through-16 model where the 16 best teams make the playoffs. A change in the playoff rules would be potentially huge for a fledgling young team such as the Spurs with a potential superstar in Victor Wembanyama on their roster.

While keeping conferences can be an important tool to limit travel, it has become far less useful in the postseason. Teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies have been stuck in the Western Conference and have often suffered for it.

Since the Western Conference has consistently been the better conference for the last 30 years, it has been harder to make the playoffs in the West than it is in the East.

Changing the playoff bracket would be a game-changer for the Spurs

Had Memphis been playing in the East playoff bracket during their Grit and Grind era, then they may have had a much easier path to the NBA Finals. Instead of running into both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Spurs year after year.

That would also have been true for the Spurs, who were once in the Eastern Conference in the mid to late 1970s. Imagine how many titles they would have won had they been in the East during the late 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s with David Robinson and Tim Duncan, then the Big 3 era.

The same could soon be said for the Spurs again, who could soon be near the top of their conference and have to face tougher competition than they otherwise would in the East. Having the NBA playoff bracket switched from one to eight in each conference to one to 16 overall would make things fairer and prevent an easier path for East teams.

It would also allow for unusual playoff encounters with teams such as the Spurs and Boston Celtics facing off in a seven-game series, which would be the case if the season ended as of writing. That may not help them this season, though having at least four playoff games against the reigning champions would potentially provide a young team with valuable experience.

Experience that they can use as the Spurs improve with Wembanyama. With a playoff format change increasingly possible, it should make for a more balanced and fair bracket that could lead to more exciting postseason matchups.