Late October and early November usually signal the start of a new season for the National Basketball Association. However, the coronavirus pandemic has caused the league to make some changes to their schedule.
After a late-season hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA was able to cap off the regular season, run through the playoffs and crown the Los Angles Lakers champions in their Orlando Bubble.
With the season wrapped up, players and the NBA board of governors are busy laying out their plan for the start of the 2020-21 season. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the NBPA and board of governors are expected to approve an agreement on a pre-Christmas start date for the new season.
The NBA’s board of governors and players’ association will hold separate meetings on Thursday expected to culminate with an agreement on starting the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22 and playing a reduced 72-game schedule, sources told ESPN.
Via @wojespn on Twitter:
ESPN story with @ZachLowe_NBA: The NBA’s Board of Governors and the Players Association are holding separate meetings on Thursday expected to culminate with an agreement on starting the 2020-2021 season on Dec. 22 and playing a reduced 72-game schedule. https://t.co/y9s8szyhyb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 4, 2020
The Dec. 22 start date with a 72 games schedule will give the league a slate of games on Christmas day and the ability to end the season before the start of the 2021 Summer Olympics in mid-July.
The league believes that a Dec. 22 start that includes Christmas Day games on television and allows for a 72-game schedule that finishes before the Summer Olympics in mid-July is worth between $500 million and $1 billion in short- and long-term revenues to the league and players, sources said.
With no invite to the league’s Orlando Bubble at Disney World, the potential Dec. 22 opening night would give the Golden State Warriors their first game on the calendar since March 10.
If the league lands on Dec. 22 as the official start for the season, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Eric Paschall would have a layoff of over eight months between games. After returning from the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay Thompson would see his first game action in 18 months.
Before the Golden State Warriors make their long-awaited return to Chase Center for a live NBA game, Steve Kerr and Bob Myers will be in charge of guiding the team through the NBA draft and free agency period.
On Nov. 18, Myers and Kerr are scheduled to make the No. 2 overall selection in the 2020 edition of the NBA Draft.
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