The WNBA Finals concluded over two weeks ago and accumulated more than 3 million viewers for its Game 5 contest. This event, along with the World Series, brings about a conversation that may not be too controversial but still provides intriguing arguments from both sides.
In the final two rounds of the WNBA playoffs, teams compete in a best-of-five series. MLB goes best-of-three to best-of-five, and the final two rounds are best-of-seven. The NBA is a best-of-seven series. MLB and the NBA differ from the WNBA finals approach and have preferred a best-of-seven championship for decades. But why do these playoff formats need to be different?
In the NBA and MLB, teams play 82 and 162 games in the regular season, respectively. If they make it to the playoffs, they could play dozens of extra games. Some fans don’t love the overly extended schedules. With that said, should these leagues throw away the best-of-seven format or keep the system in place forever?
Tess (Throw away): The more I’ve watched the WNBA, the more fond I’ve grown of the best-of-five series. The best-of-five playoff format should bring more competition and excitement to postseason play. With fewer opportunities to win, players will play harder and more determined, which fans want to see.
Additionally, seven games seem too much, especially at the end of a season. Players can be fatigued and worn out, so bringing about a best-of-five series would be a good middle-ground for everyone. I understand why people enjoy the best-of-seven series. But, if we take the viewer’s perspective, best-of-five would bring more upsets and entertainment overall. We don’t need more games; we need more energy and passion.
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Ben (Stay): I’m going to be pretty emphatic about this one, and honestly, I thought this would be a unanimous “stay.” As someone against leagues just adding things for money, the championship series needs seven games.
It’s more than mandatory in MLB, but let’s look at the NBA first. Since the glorious 2016 playoffs with the iconic 3-1 finals comeback, plenty of series have put the seven-game format to full use.
In the last nine playoffs, including 2016 for a reference point, 70 out of 135 playoff series have gone six or more games. Furthermore, 30 out of 135 went to seven games. Twenty-two percent of the series went the distance. Sorry, Tess and Sahil, but you’re crazy to want to shorten over a fifth of the NBA playoff series that pack the arenas and put even more at stake.
MLB is an entirely different beast. It is truly unlike any other sport because of the weirdness, unpredictability and chaos that is MLB. There’s a reason the season is 162 games, there’s a reason the final two series are seven games and there’s a reason the most popular MLB agent is proposing changing the divisional playoff round to seven games as well.
The Washington Nationals were 42-52 in 2019 and won the World Series. The Boston Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 ALCS. Baltimore Orioles legend Earl Weaver once said, “Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starter.” That quote simply isn’t true about a lot of other sports. If you want to decrease any part of baseball, you don’t appreciate America’s favorite pastime.
Conor (Stay): I love sports, especially the playoffs. As a result, I cannot get behind removing playoff games. If anything, it is a disservice to the WNBA that their players and teams do not get a chance to play in any best-of-seven series. MLB is a tricky case, riddled with decades and decades of tradition, but the division series should also be best-of-seven.
Series that require four wins are why some of the most legendary series exist. The Cavs coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the team with the best NBA record ever and the Red Sox overcoming a 3-0 deficit against their arch-rival, the New York Yankees, come to mind. Both would have been over before they started if they were five or fewer-game series.
Best-of-seven balances pure chance and sustained success while opening the stage for electric comebacks. There are obviously draws to single-game elimination; the NFL and March Madness are key examples. Anything can happen. Best-of-three and five-game series lose the magic of single-game elimination while keeping the series too short for comebacks to be all that impressive.
Sahil (Throw away): There is no reason to keep every playoff series the best out of seven games. The seasons for the NBA and MLB are already extremely long, and as much as I love sports, especially the NBA, I don’t want to watch a ton of extra playoff games.
In my opinion, all of the rounds leading up to the NBA Finals or World Series should be reduced to best-out-of-five games. It makes each game more important because each team is closer to winning the series. The fan engagement will also increase because the stakes are higher in each game. The most recent NBA playoff’s average viewership was the lowest since at least 2010, not counting the pandemic-influenced years of 2020 and 2021. Shortening the series lengths could help increase viewership.
However, I believe the last playoff series in both sports — NBA Finals and World Series — should stay best out of seven games. It will ensure the best team wins and reduce the chance for a performance in one game to hold too much weight.
