Since the Orlando Bubble came to a close, all of the league’s attention has shifted toward the complicated question of when — not to mention how — the next season might start. With the league, the owners, and the players’ union all seemingly on a different wavelength, the timeline remains murkier than ever.
After a recent board of governors’ meeting, news emerged that the league wants to start the 2020-2021 season as early as Dec. 22 to preserve the Christmas Day slate, which is a major revenue stream, and avoid any conflicts on the other end of the schedule regarding the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Unsurprisingly, the players’ union initially balked at that idea, with NBPA director Michele Roberts saying that it “defies common sense” that the NBA would be able to get up and running again on such an accelerated time line, given the many logistical and safety issues involved.
Now, the league is pushing back, according the New York Times‘ Marc Stein, saying that a late January start date could likely mean only a 50-game regular season.
NBA players may only be offered a 50-game season, I’m told, if the union insists on a mid-January start rather than the Dec. 22 proposal, because the league’s television partners do not want the 2020-21 season to stray past mid-July … or clash with the Tokyo Olympics
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 30, 2020
Stein goes on to clarify that the 50-game season would have significant financial implications for the players. The 72-game schedule beginning in Dec. would mean would play roughly every other day and would put the NBA Finals somewhere in mid-July, thus avoiding any potential conflicts with the Olympics.
The league and the union are facing a deadline on Friday for those talks, although they are expected to once again be extended into next week.