Kyle Kuzma believes Adam Silver’s AI-backed officiating idea can help the NBA cut down long replay delays and keep games moving.
The appeal is easy to understand for players. Nobody wants a tight game interrupted by a long challenge review, especially when the call being checked is supposed to have a clear, objective answer.
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That is why Kuzma liked the proposal. He sees it less as replacing referees and more as removing the slowest parts of obvious review situations.
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Kyle Kuzma says Adam Silver’s NBA AI plan can cut down wasted challenge time
Kuzma explained his support for the idea, per Front Office Sports on X, pointing to the amount of time lost during reviews as a key issue for players.
“I think that’s a great idea, because we have these coaching challenges and stoppage during games where five minutes of real time may go off, and we’re just sitting there,” Kuzma said.
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That is a common complaint from players. Long reviews do not only break up the rhythm of a game, but also cool down teams on a run and leave everyone standing around while officials sort out something technology could often resolve quickly.
Kuzma’s point is not that every decision should be handed over to AI. It is that if the NBA is already stopping play to check objective calls, it makes sense to find a way to do it faster.
Kyle Kuzma backs Adam Silver’s NBA vision for AI-assisted objective calls
Silver’s proposal would not hand over every decision to technology. Instead, it would focus on a limited set of calls, such as determining who last touched the ball before it went out of bounds, where cameras and AI can provide a quick, definitive answer.
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That distinction is important. Human referees would still be needed for judgment calls, because fouls, advantage plays and intent are not always as clear-cut as a ball on a line.
For Kuzma, the benefit is in removing the unnecessary delays. If AI can instantly determine possession, coaches would not need to use challenges on calls that could be settled in seconds.
It would not solve every officiating controversy, but it could address some of the most frustrating stoppages without taking human judgment out of the game.
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That is why Kuzma’s backing makes sense. In a league focused on pace and entertainment, cutting down on dead time can only be a positive.
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