Warriors back by Christmas? NBA reportedly ponders holiday tipoff
It seems unlikely fans will be allowed inside the Chase Center in San Francisco anytime soon, but the Warriors could be hosting games again as early as Christmas Day.
The NBA’s board of governors held a meeting Friday to discuss plans for the 2020-2021 season that include the possibility of starting play during the holidays, according to a report by ESPN.
The report said the league is interested in starting its next season as quickly as possible and is willing to play fewer than 82 games if necessary. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that the league’s goal is to play a full 82-game schedule, but the chances of that seem to be diminishing as coronavirus cases and positivity rates continue to spike.
Because the Warriors play indoors, the state’s latest guidelines regarding pro sports do not apply. California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the go-ahead this week for professional teams to sell a limited number of tickets to games played outdoors.
The state has not provided any timeline for
indoor venues. But, as the 49ers found out this week, the county can invalidate a ruling from the state.
A decision to open the season around the Christmas holiday doesn’t leave NBA owners much time to reach a decision. Silver has told teams they will have at least eight weeks to prepare for the start of a new season. The ESPN repor t also suggested some franchises might push back on the idea of starting the season so soon and would prefer to tip off around Martin Luther King Jr. day in January. But it could be difficult for owners to pass up the chance to gain additional television revenue over the Christmas holiday.
The Warriors were expecting Nov. 18 to be the most important date remaining on the 2020 calendar — that’s the date of the NBA draft. But a return to the floor for Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Dray mond Green in December would give the franchise and its fans something to look forward to before 2020 ends.
Thompson hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since tearing his ACL on June 13, 2019, nearly 500 days ago.
The Warriors finished the 2019-2020 NBA season with a 15-50 overall record and were not invited to complete their regular season at the NBA bubble in Orlando, Fla.
The team last played March 10 at the Chase Center before the spread of COVID-19 forced the postponement of games until July.