Olympics, NBA face schedule conflict

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.— NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that his “best guess” is that next season will not start until at least January, plus acknowledged that the later-than-usual schedule could mean top U.S. men’s players miss next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

Silver, a guest in a series of panel discussions on CNN, did not indicate that any decisions are finalized. The league was originally hoping for a Dec. 1 start to next season, then shifted its focus to the chance of a late December start, and now the target has apparently moved again.

“I continue to believe that we’re going to be better off getting into January,” Silver said in a discussion with Bob Costas during part of the “Citizen by CNN” event. “The goal for us next season is to play a standard season ... an 82-game season and playoffs. And further, the goal would be to play games in home arenas in front of fans, but there’s still a lot that we need to learn.”

A typical NBA season has a regular season that lasts for nearly six months, followed by about a two-month post-season. If next season is typical a January start could mean a June or July regular-season finish, with playoffs concluding in August or September.

That could greatly affect Olympic plans.

The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics are set to begin July 23 and run through Aug. 8 — if those games are held. Final qualifying rounds for the 24 teams still bidding for the four remaining spots in the 12-team men’s basketball field would begin in June.

“There are a lot of great U.S. players, and we may be up against a scenario where the top 15 NBA players aren’t competing in the Olympics, but other great American players are competing,” Silver said.