There’s plenty of uncertainty regarding the start of the 2020/21 NBA season after the schedule had to be pushed back 5 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and there’s not a clear picture as to when we’ll have basketball back.
The league put together a huge effort for the bubble and to finish the season but the players were also quite worn out and they’ll need their usual four monthsof rest to fully heal their bodies before enduring another full campaign.
Needless to say, the NBA wants to get back to play as soon as possible to try and get some of the revenue they lost due to the pandemic, but some players have reportedly threatened to sit out the first couple of months if the season starts too soon.
NBA VP Malcolm Brogdon Says The 2020/21 NBA Season Could Start In December Or January
That’s why Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who’s also the vice president of the Players’ Association, took to ESPN to clarify the most realistic scenarios for next season, claiming that December 22 or January 18 look like the possible dates as of today:
“The way talks are going, this is a super-complicated issue, and there’s a lot to balance. [There’s] a lot of minds working on this collaboratively, on both sides. So it’s going to take some time,” Brogdon said.
“I think those are the two options. We’re either going to start MLK Day, which I think a lot of the players are leaning towards, or we’re going to start the 22nd, Christmas time. But the huge difference is revenue. Revenue, and trying to get the season back on track to start in that September-October range. So, I think calculations are being done on both sides on how much revenue would be lost for each potential date, and we’ll have to come to some type of agreement and go from there,” he concluded.
The league must set a date ASAP because that will also help shape the rest of the calendar, such as the free agency period, as well as the projected salary cap. At least, we can be sure that basketball is going to be back sooner than expected.