The NBA offseason might ending sooner than many of us expected.
For the basketball fans among us, this is an definitively positive development; multiple sources report that the Board of Governors meeting held today by the league has created a consensus to start as close to Christmas as can be accomplished safely.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania shares the season is also planned to end before the July 23rd start date projected for the Tokyo Olympics, allowing players to participate and pushing the schedule of the season back towards its usual range.
Charania relates the NBA will plan for a 72-game schedule beginning on December 22nd, with a potential plan to reduced travel via scheduling multiple games per trip between teams.
Beginning 2020-21 around Christmas Day means return to semi-normal schedule, significant financial ramifications, potentially allowing stars to play in Olympics, sources say.
Details on @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/pdIlY1Uob3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 23, 2020
The play-in tournament model used for determining eighth seeds in the Disney bubble will likely be used as well.
While the fewer games might otherwise be helpful for older players like Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford, it’s not improbable the frequency those games will negate any benefit of having fewer games to play.
Numerous details still need to be addressed regarding the coming season, and much will likely change between now and the end of December.
For now, we are starting to see the first real shape of the 2020-21 season come into focus.
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