Steve Kerr’s repeated calls for a shorter NBA regular season from 82 games to 72 have struck a nerve. With the Warriors decimated by injuries this season, as Jimmy Butler lost for the year with a torn ACL and Stephen Curry is managing a nagging knee issue, Kerr’s frustration is understandable. But not everyone in the basketball world is buying what the Warriors coach is selling.
Vince Carter Disagrees With Steve Kerr’s Plea For Fewer Games
Vince Carter, who played 22 seasons in the NBA and knows the grind of a long schedule better than almost anyone, isn’t on board with Kerr’s push to reduce the regular season from 82 games to 72.
Vince Carter on Steve Kerr suggesting the NBA lowers the 82 game season:
“This game has been good to us. 80 plus games just comes with being in the NBA. When you work your butt off to get here, that’s what comes with it. Why change the format that’s been great for so many… pic.twitter.com/fz3fLN8K8g
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 15, 2026
Carter made his stance clear with a pointed response: “This game has been good to us. 80-plus games just comes with being in the NBA. When you work your butt off to get here, that’s what comes with it. Why change the format that’s been great for so many years?”
It’s a perspective rooted in old-school values, the kind that treats the 82-game season not as a burden but as a badge of honor. Carter played in an era when logging big minutes through a full schedule was simply part of the job, and he believes the modern NBA hasn’t changed that fundamental reality.
Kerr, for his part, has been vocal on the subject more than once this season. Speaking to reporters before the Warriors’ game in Utah on March 10, he made his clearest statement yet on the issue. “I know this will not be a popular opinion in the league office, but I will continue to say it. It’s obvious we need to play fewer games,” Kerr said. “We need to take 10 games off the schedule. I think it would be great for the league.”
The Golden State coach expanded on his reasoning the following day, connecting the proposed change to multiple problems plaguing the league. “My number one concern is the quality of the NBA product,” Kerr said. “I think limiting the schedule would encompass a lot of issues. Player health, player availability, tanking. I think all of that stuff would improve. And I think the quality of play would improve.”
Kerr’s frustrations have a clear context. His Warriors have been ravaged by injuries throughout the 2025-26 season. Jimmy Butler tore his ACL and is lost for the year. Stephen Curry has missed time with a knee injury and has played in just 39 games.
Kerr’s point is simple: asking players to sustain that level of output over 82 games is a structural problem, and trimming the schedule is the most direct solution.
Commissioner Adam Silver has acknowledged the injury concerns without committing to change, noting the lack of definitive data linking schedule length directly to increased injuries. The 82-game season has been the NBA’s standard since 1967, making it one of the sport’s most entrenched traditions.
For Carter, that tradition is exactly the point. The game made careers out of durability and endurance, and breaking that mold requires more than a few bad injury seasons to justify.
