The 2020-21 NBA season will begin on Dec. 22.
Teams presumably expected a bit of a layoff between seasons after exiting the NBA’s “bubble” at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Early reports suggested that the 2020-21 campaign would not begin at the earliest until mid-January and no later than March.
Trending: Top NBA teams with brightest futures
The 2020-21 season start date was moved up to late December by the NBA and National Basketball Players Association. As the NBA feared a January start could cost the league up to 1 billion in sales losses, it was primarily a financial decision. When the term “billion” is tossed around, things appear to move fast.
Not all the specifics have been ironed out yet, but here’s what we know about the next season so far.
When does the NBA season start for 2020-21?
- Training camp start date: Dec. 1, 2020
- NBA preseason start date: Dec. 11, 2020
- NBA season start date: Dec. 22, 2020
Teams will be back in gymnasiums for training camps beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1, giving them three weeks to prepare before Opening Night. Yep, it’s going to be a fast turnaround.
PROUD‼️ We’re just getting started. pic.twitter.com/WmcCOAsUot
— Lavar Ball (@Lavarbigballer) December 3, 2020
The 2020-21 NBA timeline:
A 72-game schedule will be played by each team. On Friday, Dec. 4, full game and broadcast schedules for the first half of the season will be announced. In order to preserve flexibility in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the league will reveal the first and second halves of the season separately.
Must Read: What is the Highest Paid Sport in the World?
Here’s a tentative breakdown of the 2020-21 NBA calendar:
- Preseason games: Dec. 11-19, 2020
- The first half of regular season: Dec. 22, 2020-March 4, 2021
- All-Star break: March 5-10, 2021
- The second half of the regular season: March 11-May 16, 2021
- Play-in tournament: May 18-21, 2021
- NBA playoffs: May 22-July 22, 2021
Leave a Reply