Players’ union approves start on Dec. 22

The votes are in. The National Basketball Players Association representatives voted to approve the Dec. 22 start date for the 2020-21 season on Thursday, leading to widespread optimism that the remaining negotiations will lead to the NBA’s rapid return.

The NBPA voted to approve the start date with a 72-game regular season, allowing the season to be begin before the Christmas Day showcase games and to be completed in time for the summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“The Board of Player Representatives of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has tentatively approved a start date of December 22, 2020 for the 20202021 NBA season and a 72-game schedule,” the players union announced in a statement. “Additional details remain to be negotiated and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season.”

Talks will need to continue to reach an agreement on an amended collective bargaining agreement, salary cap and luxury tax, along with the portion of players’ salaries to be withheld to meet the split of basketball related income. There also will need to be agreements on COVID-19 testing and protocols.

After Thursday’s vote, however, there is a general expectation that the remaining negotiation hurdles would be cleared by early next week.

The NBA draft is scheduled for Nov. 18 with free agency expected to open just days later and training camps to begin Dec. 1. The moratorium on trades likely will be lifted in the days before the draft.

With just 71 days between the end of the 2019-20 and proposed start of the 2020-21 season, the NBA would have the shortest turnaround between seasons ever in NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL history. But the eight teams that were not involved in competition in the league’s Florida bubble have not played since March.

The NBA board of governors strongly preferred a late December start to boost television, sponsorship and limited ticket sales revenue in markets where permitted, as opposed to the Jan. 18Martin Luther King Jr. Day start players had proposed. The league also wanted to begin moving toward its traditional schedule while avoiding competing for attention and television advertising dollars with the Olympics.

The league weighed pushing back the start of the season when there had been greater optimism about playing games with more fans in attendance. But with that unlikely until well into next season in most markets, the benefits of the December start, even with the rapid turnaround since last season, became the priority. With the players on board, it moved Thursday to likely.