The vast majority of NBA general managers reportedly favor a "playoffs-plus" format featuring a play-in tournament by teams near the bottom of the postseason picture instead of a World Cup-style group stage.

According to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, approximately 75 percent of general managers voted for the play-in tournament when asked to choose between the two in a survey delivered to teams last week.

Such a format would break 20 teams up into "tiers" for round-robin play—much like the group stage of soccer's World Cup—with two teams from each pool emerging into an eight-team second round.

O'Connor noted the top teams in the league, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, were against the World Cup format.