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Alex Kennedy is joined by NBA writer Keith Smith, who writes for Yahoo Sports and Celtics Blog (and who spent nearly 20 years working for Disney). They discuss the NBA’s options to resume the 2019-20 season, why Disney is a perfect host, what finishing the NBA season at Walt Disney World would look like and much more. Time-stamps are below!
0:35: Alex and Keith discuss the NBA’s various options to finish the season and which proposal sounds best.
3:15: If the NBA wants to resume the regular season and bring all 30 teams to Orlando, can Walt Disney World handle that many people?
5:05: Discussing the possibility of a World-Cup-style group-stage format (although it sounds like this idea isn’t popular among executives).
6:20: Will the 2020 championship have an asterisk next to it?
9:00: Once the NBA returns, the TV ratings should be incredible (especially if the ratings for “The Last Dance” and “The Match” are any indication).
11:20: After working at Disney for nearly 20 years, Keith wrote a piece in April breaking down why Walt Disney World would be the perfect place for the NBA to resume the season. He explains why Disney is such a great fit.
15:50: Keith breaks down Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex and what finishing the NBA season there might look like.
19:40: Are there any concerns about Disney or issues that would need to be worked out in order for this to go smoothly?
22:20: Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that some agents have complained about a huge disparity in hotel quality. Could that be an issue?
24:35: Alex and Keith discuss whether this arrangement with Disney could extend beyond this season. If there’s still no vaccine by the time the 2020-21 season starts, what does the NBA do?
27:40: The NBA reached out to Keith to thank him for this idea.
29:55: Alex and Keith discuss whether it would make sense to re-seed the postseason 1-through-16 without factoring in conference affiliation.
32:40: Keith talks about his experience working at Disney, and how he ended up covering the NBA after nearly 20 years at Disney.