The ELAM ending – under the moniker “Final Target Score” – is coming to the NBA G-League for the 2022-23 season.
“Beginning in 2022-23, games that advance to overtime will be determined by a Final Target Score,” the G-League wrote in a statement.
“The winner of an overtime game during the season will be the first team to reach or surpass the Final Target Score, which will be the tied score after four quarters plus seven. For example, if the teams are tied at 100-100, the Final Target Score would be 107. Overtime will be untimed and games will end when a team makes a basket or free throw to reach or surpass the Final Target Score.”
The ELAM format is an alternative basketball rules format that replaces four quarters with a target score.
In recent years, the NBA has utilized an “ELAM ending” for the all-star game.
Similarly, all 31 games at the 2022 AT&T NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas will utilize a 25-point Final Target Score during an untimed fourth quarter.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has already floated the idea of an in-season tournament; perhaps an ELAM ending will be next.