NBA Forced to Adjust Quickly After Setting Early Start Date to the Season
The NBA was in jeopardy – but it made it through, and the Lakers are champions. But now the NBA has to do the planning work all over again as COVID-19 continues to transform the sports world.
At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA was forced to put its season on hold until Commissioner Adam Silver and the teams could come up with a solution – making “the bubble” a household saying. On July 7, NBA coaches, players, administration and staff left their homes and family for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where they would finish the rest of the season.
During this time no one could enter or leave the bubble until their team was eliminated from playoff contention or the playoffs.
In an interview with NBC Sports Boston, Celtics star Jayson Tatum expressed his feelings on leaving his family to continue the season.
“Just being away from my son for two or three months, that is what is really bothering me,” Tatum said to reporters, “Knowing that he’s only two-and-a-half (years old), and especially when they’re that young, their growth, they change every week, just knowing I’m going to miss out on that.”
With daily COVID-19 testing and strict restrictions, all the sacrifices NBA players and faculty made paid off. At the end of the three-month period, the NBA finished its season and crowned the Lakers champions without any COVID-19 outbreaks, unlike the MLB and NFL.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James spoke about the success of the “bubble” in an article from USA Today.
“We had zero positive tests for as long as we were here – 95 days maybe for myself,” James said. “I had a little calendar I was checking off. But on a serious note, no positive tests. That’s a success for everybody that was involved.”
But now that the season is over, what is next for the NBA?
Over the past couple weeks, the NBA board of governors and the NBA players association have been collaborating to answer this question, seeking to solidify a date to start the 2020-2021 season and set the amount of games that will be played during the season. The NBA player association voted Nov. 5 on an agreement to start the season before Christmas.
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski and ESPN reporter Zach Lowe, the new season will start on Dec. 22 and the game schedule will be reduced to 72 games. Also, as of now fans will still not be able to attend games. Even though this agreement was mutually accepted by players, coaches and owners around the league, many people think the restart of the season is too early.
When the season starts on Dec. 22, players that competed in the NBA finals would only have 71 days of rest before opening day, which is only about half of the offseason that they usually get. Is that enough time for players to fully rest their body and then get back into basketball shape?
On the Ringer’s basketball podcast, Los Angeles Lakers guard Danny Green spoke about how future Hall of Famer LeBron James might not play at the beginning of the season.
“Dec. 22 is not on my mind,” Green said. “I think most guys, if you say they’re starting in December, I think they’re like, ‘I’m not going to be there.’ Because we have a lot of vets on our team. It’s not like we have young guys and rookies.”
The main reason for the early restart in the reduced season is to ensure that the NBA season finishes before the Summer Olympics, which takes place in July. According to ESPN sources, starting before Christmas and ending before July would create between $500 million and $1 billion in short- and long-term revenues to the league and players.
Even with all the sacrifices the players, administration, and staff will have to make this season, the NBA has figured out a solution to make sure their business continues in the most beneficial way possible. But its impact on players is yet to be seen.
Emmanuel Adamson is a Social Media Manager. Follow him on Twitter at @Eadamson12.