If the 2019-20 NBA season eventually emerges from its current hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, one of the short-term effects would likely be a change to the league’s calendar.
Since the NBA Finals would not conclude until August or September, as opposed to the usual date of June, that would delay the traditional offseason — including the NBA Draft and free agency — until after the current league year concludes. Many proposals have suggested running the 2020-21 season from Christmas Day (Dec. 25) until next August.
Count Houston Rockets guard and 12-year NBA veteran Eric Gordon among those wanting to see such a change become permanent.
Gordon was asked about his views in an interview by SportsTalk 790 radio host Matt Thomas, who also works as radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Rockets and as Houston’s public address announcer for home games at Toyota Center. Here’s how that exchange went:
Thomas: I’ve always been a proponent of December start date to crowning a champion in August. I just think you all play some great basketball, and because football and college football dominate those first two months, it kind of gets lost in the shuffle. Do you have any thought about a December start, or do you want to keep things the way they are with the calendar?
Gordon: I think I would like for it to change. I really would. I think I really do want to have the season start in December, like on Christmas, late December, and end in early August or maybe late July. The only thing that sucks is it would go into the summer, but at the end of the day, you still get the same result. You still get a lot of free time. I think we should start in December. That would do everyone well.
Thomas: I think so. I think it’ll make the league a lot more popular on that Christmas start date, because it’s kind of like the unofficial start of the season [already].
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The first domino to fall is likely the resumption of the 2019-20 season from its current hiatus, which would inherently delay the start to the 2020-21 league year. Like everyone else around the NBA, Gordon and the Rockets are simply hoping they’ll have the opportunity to find out.
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