NBA chiefs on Thursday gave the green light to the resumption of the league on 31 July with 22 teams based at a single venue in Florida in order to minimise the risk of Covid-19.
Each of the 22 teams will play eight regular-season games for seeding purposes for the postseason.
"We are in the equivalent of the first inning. We've got a long ways to go here," NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the American cable station TNT after 29 of the 30 NBA team owners voted for the deal.
"We have always been looking for a safe way to resume, knowing we are going to be living with this virus for a while."
The NBA Players Association will lobby its members via conference calls about the scheme throughout Friday.
Sole venue
Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando has been chosen as the venue for the games that will be played without spectators. Play-offs would take place in August. The plan envisages the completion of the NBA Finals by 12 October.
"While the Covid-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols being finalised with public health officials and medical experts,” Silver added.
The league wants teams to start training camps in their home cities on 30 June before travelling to Orlando on 7 July.
This year's regular season was halted on 12 March after the Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. The 27-year-old Frenchman was eventually given the all-clear
In the restart plan, players would be tested daily and if a player tests positive, he would be isolated and quarantined. The others would carry on playing while still being tested on a daily basis.
