After what will be a four-plus month hiatus, the 2019-20 NBA season is slated to return late next month at Walt Disney World in Florida. It’s been a long time coming, as both the Association and its players hashed out a deal to resume the season.
Dates are now set for the 2019-20 NBA season to resume
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, detailed plans for the season are now etched in stone. Working with a small window, the NBA has set the following dates for the resumption of the season.
- July 30 – Aug. 14: Seeding games
- Aug. 15- Aug. 16: Play-in tournament
- Aug. 17: Playoffs start
- Aug. 30: Family/guests of players arrive at Walt Disney World
- Aug. 31 – Sept. 13: Conference semifinals
- Sept. 15 – Sept. 28: Conference finals
- Sept. 30 – Oct. 13: NBA Finals
Needless to say, this is an ambitious goal amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just recently, Florida saw its largest one day increase of virus cases as the state opens up its economy.
Some players have expressed concern over the NBA’s return-to-play plans. Meanwhile, the league is about to come to terms with the Players’ Association on a deal that will allow some players to opt out of returning.
How the 2019-20 NBA season will look
A total of 22 of the league’s 30 teams will return to Walt Disney World’s bubble city. Each team will play eight regular-season games before the playoffs start.
Should a team find itself No. 9 in the conference and four games or less out of the final playoff spot, a best-of-three play-in tournament would take place for the eighth seed. The playoffs themselves include best-of-seven series in each round. That has been par for the course for the NBA over the past several years.
Obviously, it’s a small window for the NBA. The 2020 draft is slated to take place in October with free agency starting shortly thereafter and the 2020-21 season expected to get going at some point in early December.
