NBA Players Agree to 2021 Season Start Date
Even after a weird 2020 NBA season – played out this year in a bubble in Orlando, basketball fans are already looking forward to the next season. Although it remains uncertain how they will continue to combat the transmission of COVID-19, the league recently announced the start date for the 2021 NBA season.
A typical October or November start was simply not possible based on when the season ended this year. As such, the NBA has announced the 2021 season will instead begin on December 22nd 2020.
This may seem like it is coming up quick, and it is, leaving an off-season of only about a month or two. For many, it came as quite a shock that the players would agree to this deal – having such little time off.
Regardless, the deal was agreed upon by the NBA’s Players Association. It is important to note however that the start date is tentative.
League commissioner Adam Silver stated that he realistically does not believe the 2021 NBA season will begin until after the New Year.
Additionally, they expect the season to end before Mid-July to avoid a potential conflict with the previously postponed 2020 Summer Olympics.
The result will be a shorter than usual 72-game season. Ten games short of the regular 82 games.
This does give rise a lot of excitement in the basketball world. But it also has a lot of fans raising questions about how the health of many players will hold up through the 2021 season – having so little time to recover.
Playing a sport for so long requires athletes to take care of themselves and spend adequate time recovering. That recovery time is being reduced for many players by this one month off-season.
As a result, sadly, fans may need to be prepared for a higher amount of injury in the 2021 NBA season. Despite the challenges, it will be exciting to see the NBA return in a month or so. Fingers crossed of course!
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