An NBA team could win their division but miss out on the playoffs under a proposed rule change. Under the proposal, the top-eight teams from each conference would qualify for the playoffs.

"First of all, it's never happened before that a division winner did not finish within the top eight, and our basketball analytics folks calculate that there's less than a 5 percent chance that it would happen," Adam Silver said before taking part in a panel discussion at the Beyond Sport United program.

"Where we are leaning right now is that we would not guarantee a spot for a division winner in part because it's so unlikely to happen, and No. 2 if it does happen it would be potentially confusing to fans. No. 3, you would be displacing a team that did have a top-eight record."