The NBA Approved Coaching Challenges For The 2019-20 Season

Instant replay seems to always be a point of contention in the sports world. Recently, the NFL approved a major change that will allow pass interference calls to be reviewed, doing so on the heels of a controversial no-call that directly impacted the pursuit of Super Bowl glory. On the NBA side, an event of that magnitude hasn’t occurred to spur sweeping change but, on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski brought word that the league’s Board of Governors have approved the ability for both coaches and the NBA’s official replay center to “trigger instant replay.”

From there, Wojnarowski also noted that coaches can challenge “a personal foul charged to coach’s team, a called out-of-bounds violation, and goaltending and basket-interference violations.” While replay is already present in a variety of ways, this could add an intriguing element to the proceedings, with coaches having direct impact, rather than simply having to appeal to officials to take an extra look at the video monitor.

The implementation of this process will also be of note, as the combination of coach-inspired challenges (even if they don’t come with the always entertaining toss of a real, live flag).

Still, the object is to get calls right and, even if this becomes an annoyance to some in the viewing process, that aim will be at the forefront.

The league offered up an official release shortly after detailing all of the changes.