The NBA offseason might have just gotten a lot shorter.
And for the basketball addicts among us, this is an unambiguously good thing; multiple sources are reporting that the Board of Governors meeting held today by the league resulted in a consensus push for a start as close to Christmas as possible.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports the season is planned to end before the July 23rd projected start date of the Tokyo Olympics, allowing players to participate and pushing the league back towards its usual calendar range.
Charania also notes the league aims for a 72-game schedule to begin on December 22nd, with a plan to have travel reduced by scheduling multiple games per visit between clubs on the table.
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 eighth seeds in the Disney bubble will also likely be employed.
While the fewer games might otherwise be a boon for older players like Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, it’s quite possible the frequency those games will come at the expense of the benefit of having fewer games to play.
Many details remain undecided about the coming season, and much could change between now and late December.
For now however, we are starting to see the first tangible outlines of how the 2020-21 season will go.
