It seems like yesterday that the Los Angeles Lakers earned their first title in a decade, defeating the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals. A season that was suspended five months due to COVID-19 concluding in Orlando’s Walt Disney World bubble. As expected, the 2020-21 NBA season is now slated to start here soon.
According to multiple media reports, the National Basketball Players Association has agreed to an NBA plan for the 2020-21 season to start in December.
2020-21 NBA season to include 72-game schedules, start Dec. 22
This has pretty much been the plan all along. However, some within the hierarchy of the players union were pushing back against such a short offseason. That’s obviously not a problem right now.
Thursday represented a rather large news day around the NBA world when it comes to the 2020-21 season outside of what we’re learning right now.
That includes the NBA planning to have teams host fans in their home arenas at a capacity of 25-50%, which is a bit of a tall task given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States right now. Previous suggestions were that the NBA might play next season in multiple bubbles. That’s not going to be the case.
Related: Top 50 NBA players of 2020
2020-21 NBA schedule
This latest news suggests that the season will be over once the since-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan are slated to start next summer.
That was always one of the major things both the NBA and its players were looking at when coming to a conclusion regarding the 2020-21 season. It now appears players will be able to take part in the event. Of course, that’s also dependent on the season finishing on time and the trajectory of the pandemic.
NBA offseason schedule
- It now looks like trades will be able to start at some point here soon. NBA free agency will also get going later in November. That’s no small thing given that teams are already concerned some free agents have already committed to signing.
- Postponed multiple times since June, the 2020 NBA Draft is slated to take place remotely on Nov. 18. Free agency should start within 48-72 hours of the draft wrapping up.
As it is, we now have a firm date as it relates to the start of the 2020-21 NBA season. It’s time to get excited.