"Top 5 most unnecessary changes to any sport ever" - NBA fans baffled over Adam Silver introducing circular shot-clock next season

Starting next season, the NBA shot clock will be surrounded by a circle rather than the traditional square atop the backboard fans are accustomed to seeing. On Thursday, The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov reported that the league plans to debut the new shot clock next season.

The situation immediately caught the attention of several NBA fans, who shared their thoughts via X, formerly known as Twitter.

From the sounds of things, many were taken aback by what appeared to be an unprompted change. In 1954, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock, mounting it atop the backboard 23 years later, in 1977.

There it has remained, with the shot clock in massive numbers beneath the regulation clock, encapsulated in a square frame. Beginning in the 2025-26 season, however, the shot clock display as we know it will be no more.

The news left many fans scratching their heads:

"Now this is like top 5 most unnecessary changes to ANY sport ever. wtf?" one fan wrote.

"Not saying this is a bad idea, im just curious who brought this up for consideration very random," another fan added.

"Who tf asked for this," a fan posted.

Others want the league to focus on more important things:

"Doing this before holding refs accountable," one fan wrote.

"Not sure why that had to happen. It doesn’t really matter, but there were much bigger things that needed to be changed than the shot clocks," another fan said.

"Adam Silver focusing on the wrong things… as per usual," a fan commented.

Looking at the history of the NBA's shot clock amid expected change

As mentioned, the NBA shot clock was implemented in 1954, when legendary players like Bob Cousy, Bob Pettit, and George Mikan dominated the league. At the time, teams would gain a lead and then try to play keep-away until the opposing team committed a foul.

This led to games like the infamous 19-18 showdown between the Pistons, who played out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the time, and the Minneapolis Lakers. Because of that, the owner and general manager of the Syracuse Nationals decided to devise a 24-second shot clock to prevent stalling.

Then, in 1977, as the NBA began to captivate an even greater audience, they added the shot clock to the backboard for those watching at home.

However, it wasn't until the 2016-17 season that the shot clock as we know it today came to be. Thanks to the league's partnership with watch brand Tissot, they introduced the square-shaped glass LED design we know today.