NBA
Full Guide for the NBA’s Return From Suspension
Everything to know about the NBA's long-awaited return from suspension including key dates, new structure, health questions, and more!
Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP Images
The NBA’s 2019-20 season was abruptly suspended on March 11 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the world in many ways beyond sports. As cases across the country continue to decline and after almost a three-month basketball drought, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a return-to-play plan on June 4th with a plan to resume games in July.
The NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) approved the plan on June 5, which made it official that the league, its teams, and players are all on board with the season resuming. Although every detail isn’t yet finalized, below is a brief summary of the current plan in place and a quick breakdown of how the NBA will proceed with the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
#NBA comeback notable dates:
July 9-11 – Teams training in Orlando
July 31-Oct 12 – Season duration
Aug 25 – Draft Lottery
Oct 15 – #NBADraft
Oct 18 – 2020-2021 Free Agency
Nov 10 – Training camp for 2020-2021 season
Dec 1 – Tentative 2020-2021 Season tip-off pic.twitter.com/IdEYOOcm49— SBOBET (@SBOBET) June 5, 2020
NEW 2020 NBA CALENDAR:
June 15: International players must return
June 21: Players must report to their respective teams
June 22: COVID-19 testing begins
June 30: Training camps begin
July 7: Teams must travel to Orlando
July 31: NBA regular season resumes
August 25: NBA Draft Lottery
September 15: NBA Conference Finals
September 30: Game 1 of NBA Finals
October 12: Game 7 of NBA Finals (if necessary)
October 15: NBA Draft
October 18: Start of free agency
November 10: 2020-21 training camps begin
December 1: 2020-21 regular season opener
NBA votes to resume season with 22-team format. All games will be held on a campus of the Walt Disney Report in Orlando, Florida. Previous story: https://t.co/J04o9BNsCe
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) June 4, 2020
As of right now, the plan is for the NBA to resume the season at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and have all games for the remainder of the 2019-20 season be played at the facilities within the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The league was considering multiple places to host its “bubble”, but Orlando made the most sense with its campus-like atmosphere. Each team will have up to 35 personnel staying in three different hotels that are part of the Disney-owned complex.
22 of the 30 NBA teams have been invited to close out the NBA 2019-20 regular season in Orlando, Florida. These teams include the top-8 teams from each conference, along with six additional teams who are within six games of a playoff spot. Five of them come from the Western Conference while only one non-Playoff team in the East was close enough to qualify.
Eastern Conference Teams: Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
Western Conference Teams: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns
The remaining eight opponents for the Boston #Celtics ’Return-To-Play schedule before the 2020 #NBA Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/EpWPJcFxLQ
— Boston Sports Report (@BostonSportsBSR) June 6, 2020
Between July 31 and the start of the NBA Playoffs, each team will play eight games known as ‘seeding games’ to determine playoff seeding and close out the 2019-20 regular season. NBA teams are required to play at least 70 games to satisfy their TV network deals with their local stations, which this solution will allow the 22 teams to do so.
Each team will play the next eight games on their regular schedule, skipping any opponent that is no longer playing games this season. There will be some minor tweaks as a few teams have one of their eight games scheduled against a team who already has eight other games against qualified opponents previous to that matchup. There is expected to be 5-6 games per day with each team expected to play one back-to-back to ensure the Playoffs start by mid-August.
If the NBA does use each team’s next eight originally scheduled games against the 22 going to Orlando for the ‘regular season’ here’s the strength of schedule for the West’s 3-7 teams:
HOU – .623
DEN – .615
UTA – .571
DAL – .556
OKC – .489Rockets have their work cut out.
— Andrew Soukup (@asoukuptx) June 8, 2020
Do any of the NBA play-in tournament teams have a shot at the title?
@DKNatn explains: https://t.co/Gwa2WtsqOH
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) June 7, 2020
For the first time in NBA history, the league is introducing a potential play-in tournament. It isn’t guaranteed, but the play-in tournament will be a best-of-three series between the number 8 seed and number 9 seed if the number 9 seed is within four games back of the number 8 seed. The number 8 seed will start the series with an automatic 1-0 lead in the three-game series, meaning the number 9 seed will have to win twice to claim the final playoff spot while the number 8 seed will only have to win once to keep its playoff spot.
However, if the number 8 seed has more than a four-game lead on the number 9 seed, then the team at the number 8 spot automatically makes the postseason and there would be no play-in tournament just like any other season. Once the 16 playoff teams are set, the postseason will be played out in the traditional manner – Eastern and Western Conference playoffs with a best-of-seven series in each round to crown a legitimate champion. Adam Silver said Michael Jordan’s influence was a big part in making sure none of the rumored gimmicks were added to this year’s playoff structure.
NBA players will begin getting tested for COVID-19 on June 22nd. Once in Orlando, players will be tested daily. If a player tests positive for the virus, it will not disrupt play or the team. That one player will simply have to quarantine himself. #NBA
— Daniel Torres (@KingTorres1st) June 8, 2020
All NBA personnel (players, coaches, staff) will be required to undergo daily COVID-19 testing to ensure everybody is healthy and safe to proceed with the season. Players will not be allowed to shower at the facilities where games will be played; they will be required to instead shower at their hotels.
When not playing, active players will be spaced out on the bench to ensure social distancing is being followed, while inactive players will be required to sit in the stands. Guests of the players are not allowed to be in attendance until after the first round of the Playoffs (limited to three guests per player).
The plan right now is that no fans will be allowed to attend any games during the entirety of the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida. With the state of Texas already publicly allowing 50% capacity at stadiums that fit close to 100,000 people, this could be subject to change over the coming months. Considering the NFL season is planning on starting in September with no current limitations on fan attendance, the NBA might be allowing fans in attendance sooner than people currently believe.
Another key aspect of this is if a player tests positive for Corona, he will be required to quarantine for at least seven days until he tests negative multiple times. The rest of the team will be tested (as they will be on a daily basis either way) and will be able to proceed as usual without that player who tested positive.
The only potential issue that hasn’t yet been addressed is if numerous players on the same team test positive. Will the team have to forfeit those games? Does the NBA suspend those games until they’re cleared to play? Hopefully, answers to those questions will never need to become relevant.
The 2020-21 NBA season could potentially begin on Dec. 1. That date, while fluid, was part of the package approved by the NBA’s board of governors. https://t.co/m03lHD9zpR pic.twitter.com/UOims5VE5b
— SLAM Newswire (@SLAMnewswire) June 4, 2020
Given the current calendar, the NBA has scheduled November 10 as the start date for next season’s training camps and December 1st as the Opening Night for the 2020-21 regular season. Since the NBA is understandably prioritizing having as many fans in attendance as possible, it is certainly possible that the league will push back the 2020-21 season opener if 100% attendance isn’t yet allowed by then.
It’s important to note that in order for these dates to be cemented, The NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) must approve of them first. Whether the NBA plays a full season in 2020-21 is still TBD and it is still unclear how players’ salaries and next season’s salary cap will be affected by the league’s new plan. The Summer Olympics have been postponed to July 23, 2021 which the NBA is fully aware of, likely forcing them to not let any games go beyond that point.
These circumstances are unprecedented, but the NBA did as good of a job as possible in planning an appropriate, healthy, and fair way to resume the season. The league’s influence on society became as clear as ever when they suspended the season on March 11, only for the whole world to follow suit. How the remainder of the season plays out will surely influence other sports leagues, concerts, and other major events across the country.
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: @nbaonespn
