It appears that the NBA will take its time before starting the 2020/21 season. Speaking with CNN in a recent interview, the league’s commissioner Adam Silver said that the next NBA season will probably kick off in 2021.
According to Silver, the decision isn’t finalized and could be subject to change, but his personal opinion is that the NBA would “be better off getting into January” due to the current coronavirus pandemic.
“I continue to believe that we’re going to be better off getting into January,” said Silver.
The reason why the NBA wants to push 2020/21 further back is the league’s intention to stage a full season and have fans in stands.
“The goal for us next season is to play a standard season … an 82-game season and playoffs,” Silver added. “And further, the goal would be to play games in home arenas in front of fans, but there’s still a lot that we need to learn.”
The NBA plans to wrap up the current season in early October, and previously hoped that the next could start around Christmas. However, based on the new information and uncertainty caused by a coronavirus, the delay became the best option going forward.
The league already postponed the NBA Draft, announcing that the event will take place on November 18th instead of October 16th.
