NBA: League targets Dec. 22 start to season of 70-72 games
The NBA may be back before Christmas and fans could return to games at some point next season, if one plan considered by the league’s board of governors becomes reality.
The board is targeting a Dec. 22 start to what would be a season of 70 to 72 games, with the NBA Finals ending in June again as has been in the case for many years, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, on condition of anonymity because no plan has been finalized.
The source said the possibility of fans being at games would hinge on how a particular market is faring against the coronavirus at that time.
There are other options, such as waiting until later in the season to begin play with the hope that more arenas would be able to have fans. But starting in December instead of mid
January or later could generate a difference of roughly $500 million (U.S.) in revenue, the person said.
Revenue projections for the league this season were missed by about $1.5 billion, the source said.
The losses were the result of a combination of factors — the shutdown caused by the pandemic, the cancellation of 171 regular-season games, completing the season in a bubble at Walt Disney World without fans, the nearly $200-million price tag for operating that bubble and a yearlong rift with the Chinese government that saw NBA games not shown on state television there.
No decisions have been finalized for next season and talks with the National Basketball Players Association remain ongoing on many matters, including the financial parameters for the coming year. Those talks, especially on the money issue, would have to be concluded before any real decisions about next season are made.
The NBPA has not made any final decisions on how it wants to see the league proceed, either. But this plan, starting in December and ending in June, would get the 2021-22 season — virus-permitting — back to normal with 82-game slates starting next October.
A pre-Christmas start for the upcoming season would mean the off-season for the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat would be almost absurdly short, since a Dec. 22 start date would mean teams would likely be starting training camps around the end of November.
This season’s NBA Finals ended on Oct. 11, so the Heat and Lakers could basically have as little as seven weeks off. Typically, a mid-June end to the Finals is followed by about a 3 1⁄2- month break.
Any December resumption of play would also create a serious time crunch to get rosters settled. The NBA draft is scheduled for Nov. 18 and it remains unclear when free agency — which typically follows the draft — would take place.
It would also, however, mean that the league and its broadcast partners would get to keep Christmas games on the schedule. The league has made Christmas a five-game slate in recent years, primarily because of how many viewers tune in on the holiday.
A June ending for next season would also allow players to compete in the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, set to begin in July. The U.S. has already qualified for those Olympics, as have seven other nations. There are 24 teams left to compete for the final four spots in the men’s basketball field for Tokyo, with qualifiers set to begin in June.