NBA 2020-21 Season: January 18 being targeted for start of next season

We already have a new NBA champion in the Los Angeles Lakers who defeated the Miami Heat earlier this week to clinch their 17th title in franchise history. Their win also officially drew the curtains on the 2019-20 season, one which began over a year ago, and has easily been the most unique and memorable of all-time.

The league can finally breathe a sigh of relief with the bubble experiment all wrapped up, and for the success of pulling off an impressive logistical feat to end up crowning a champion without any positive COVID-19 cases.

Unfortunately, there’s little time to celebrate.

The league still have all sorts of hurdles to clear in ushering in a new season as the original 1 December target start date seems not to be feasible.

However, the new season could kick start in January of 2021 which will officially be the 2020-21 campaign, even though it will happen exclusively in 2021.

As for a specific date, 18 January – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – is now the new target, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Once Silver said the league was looking at some time in January, MLK Day always seemed like the logical choice. It’s become an increasingly important date on the NBA calendar over the past few years and presents an easy way for the league to turn opening night into a real event.

Hollinger also noted that the league is planning to give teams eight weeks notice ahead of the start of the season, which would mean Nov. 23.

The league can then move on to the more challenging prospect of actually designing the schedule after nailing down the start date.

The position with fans is still unclear for all or part of next season if the COVID-19 situation persists. That is also a bone of contention for the league going into a new season.

Travel ban restrictions is another logistical issue that needs to be taken into account as it concerns the Toronto Raptors going to and from Canada, and also the Olympics.

Silver said earlier this month that it’s unlikely the league will pause for the Tokyo Games, but they’ll still have to take that event into account when planning next season.

Furthermore, Hollinger noted that the league is looking at the possibility of playing multi-game series, similar to baseball in order to cut down on travel, and speed up how fast they can get through the season.

With teams only playing each other a few times each season, this isn’t something the league has done before, but drastic times call for innovation. Plus, we’ve seen in the bubble how less travel can improve the quality of play, so there could be additional benefits besides organisational ones.

The league still has a lot on their plate over the next few months with all being said, but in the meantime, the 2020 NBA Draft is set for 18 November, with free agency to follow in the next few weeks.