NBA Players in Olympics Is Discussed

The National Basketball Assn. will meet with the Amateur Basketball Assn. of the United States (ABAUSA) to develop a plan for the inclusion of NBA players in the 1992 Olympics.

The NBA Board of Governors, meeting at a Century City hotel on Tuesday, was briefed on the Barcelona Games but no meeting dates with ABAUSA were set. Foremost among the issues to be resolved is the selection process of the U.S. team.

The board also approved two minor rule modifications, which will take effect next season.

--When a ball goes out of bounds with less than five seconds left on the 24-second clock, the shot clock will not be reset to five seconds. The board said that defenses were penalized under the old rule.

--The NBA will use the international clock next season, with the clock displaying tenths of a second in the final minute of each quarter.

In other developments, the NBA:

--Decided against further expansion in the near future. It will include 27 teams next season, when Minnesota and Orlando begin play. The league has been contacted by groups in Cincinnati and St. Louis, which are seeking teams.

--Announced that it had record attendance and revenue for the sixth consecutive year. Attendance increased 22%, from 12,654,374 to 15,464,994.

Although final TV ratings aren’t available, the league anticipates that the regular-season ratings on CBS will be unchanged, making the NBA one of the few sports whose ratings did not decline in the last year.

--Voted to study the draft lottery, due to be expanded to 11 teams in 1989-90.