After leaving the NBA’s “bubble” at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, teams likely anticipated a bit of a layoff between seasons. Early reports indicated the 2020-21 campaign wouldn’t begin before mid-January at the earliest and March at the latest.
So, uh, about those vacation plans …
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association bumped up the 2020-21 season start date to late December. It was largely a financial decision, as the NBA feared a January start could cost the league up to $1 billion in revenue losses. Things tend to move quickly when the word “billion” is being thrown around.
Not all of the details are ironed out just yet, but here’s what we know so far about the upcoming season.
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.
With the NBA start date on December 22 …
🔹 The Lakers and Heats’ offseason: 71 days
🔹 The teams that didn’t make the bubble: 285 days pic.twitter.com/tlPhIyggmM— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 10, 2020
NBA schedule for 2020-21
Each team will play a 72-game schedule. Complete game and broadcast schedules for the first half of the season will be revealed on Friday, Dec. 4. The league will announce the first and second halves of the schedule separately in order to maintain flexibility amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s a tentative breakdown of 2020-21 NBA calendar:
- Preseason games: Dec. 11-19, 2020
- First half of regular season: Dec. 22, 2020-March 4, 2021
- All-Star break: March 5-10, 2021
- Second half of regular season: March 11-May 16, 2021
- Play-in tournament: May 18-21, 2021
- NBA playoffs: May 22-July 22, 2021
Tuesday, Dec. 22 (Opening Night)
(All times Eastern)
| Game | Time | National TV |
| Warriors vs. Nets | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Clippers vs. Lakers | 10 p.m. | TNT |
Wednesday, Dec. 23
(All times Eastern)
| Game | Time | National TV |
| Bucks vs. Celtics | 7:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Mavericks vs. Suns | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)
(All times Eastern)
| Game | Time | National TV |
| Pelicans vs. Heat | Noon | ESPN |
| Warriors vs. Bucks | 2:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Nets vs. Celtics | 5 p.m. | ABC |
| Mavericks vs. Lakers | 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN |
| Clippers vs. Nuggets | 10:30 p.m. | ABC |
Will NBA fans be allowed to attend games?
The NBA is anticipating five to 10 teams will allow fans to be present at games to start the 2020-21 season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. At this point, it is difficult to nail down which teams would feel comfortable letting fans walk into arenas because state guidelines may vary.
The league hasn’t provided an across-the-board answer, so expect teams to offer individual statements as the season approaches. Information on how each team will handle attendance can be found here.
Source: Sporting News