Tipoff time finally arrives
Lots of storylines on, off court as 2021-22 campaign begins
Adam Silver, the basketball fan, would prefer to see Kyrie Irving on the court again with the Nets as soon as possible.
Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, would prefer to see Irving vaccinated.
Silver said Monday he hopes Irving — one of the few players in the league who hasn’t yet chosen to be vaccinated — changes his mind before long and clears a path to get back on the floor with the Nets.
“I would like to see our players vaccinated, because I think it’s a public service of sorts, particularly to young people who might not see the value of getting vaccinated,” Silver said on the eve of the league’s 75th anniversary season, the third to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,
Irving can’t play for the Nets in large part because of rules unique to New York and San Francisco requiring vaccinations as a prerequisite for working.
The Nets announced last week that Irving wouldn’t be involved in any team activities going forward “until he is eligible to be a full participant.”
About 96% of NBA players have been vaccinated, Silver said. That means that about 20, or less than one per team on average, are not. Anyone working games in proximity to players this season, from referees to stat-crew employees, must be vaccinated by league mandate.
In other matters Silver discussed Monday:
■ Silver said the league’s $10 billion revenue projection for 2021-22 is based on having full arenas all season. He said the league missed revenue projections by about 35% last season, largely because arenas were not filled for much of the year.
■ There still are no resolutions to league investigations into the sign-and-trade deals that sent Lonzo Ball to the Bulls and Kyle Lowry to the Heat this summer. The investigations are trying to determine if the Bulls or Heat broke league rules by making contact with the players before the NBA’s negotiating window opened.
■ Adding an in-season tournament, something Silver has sought for some time and models in part after what exists in European soccer, remains a viable possibility going forward. “I think we’re still in the process of formulating what would be the best proposal for all concerned,” Silver said.
■ Expansion will be a serious topic again, “at some point,” Silver said. Seattle is a city the league is eyeing, but the league won’t look at growing past the current 30 teams until it is “fully through the pandemic and know that we’re back operating on all cylinders.”
Some other storylines entering the 2021-22 season:
Goals for Giannis
The last time there was an NBA contest that mattered, Giannis Antetokounmpo picked the perfect time to have the game of his life.
His numbers: 50 points, 14 rebounds. Only the third such game with that many points and rebounds in NBA Finals history. The Bucks were crowned world champions for the first time in 50 years, Antetokounmpo — who played through a knee injury in the series — was the easy choice as NBA Finals MVP.
And if that wasn’t enough, the story might have gotten even happier for Bucks fans two months later when Antetokounmpo announced that he’s just getting started.
“I don’t care about trophies. I don’t care about the MVP’s. I don’t care about defensive player of the years. All those things, I don’t care,” Antetokounmpo said. “I care about getting better because I know if I do that, there’s more things coming.”
The Bucks will try to become the first Eastern Conference team to win back-to-back NBA titles since the Heat in 2012 and 2013.
International matters
This season is only the third in NBA history that will begin with the reigning MVP and Finals MVP both hailing from outside the U.S. Antetokounmpo, who’s Greek, won the finals award and the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, from Serbia, was the overwhelming pick for the regular-season honor.
Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon won both awards in the 1993-94 season, and in 2006-07, the Spurs’ Tony Parker (France) won Finals MVP while the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) won the regular-season MVP award.