The NBA Board of Governors approved a plan Thursday to finish the 2019-20 NBA regular season with eight games for each team beginning on July 31st at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The season will conclude with 22 teams that will jockey for position in the playoffs that will follow. The top eight in each conference in the current standings will make a trip to the sunshine state, along with six other teams that will also battle for seeding because they are still in contention to get into a top eight seed. Dependent on how the seedings end up, the playoffs also may feature a nine versus eight in the East and West during a play-in tournament.
The board took a vote of all 30 clubs that was approved 29-1, with the Portland Trailblazers being the only one opposed. Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Golden State are all eliminated from contention and will not be traveling to finish their regular season. Teams will begin training July 9-11, with the eight games per team starting July 31 and then wrapping up the season with the Finals on October 12. The eight versus nine play in will happen if a nine seed finishes within four games of an eight, and would need to win two games in a row over that eight seed to advance to the first round of the NBA playoffs. Other important dates include the NBA Draft Lottery on August 25, the NBA Draft on October 15, and opening night of the 2020-21 season on December 1. Sources say free agency could begin October 18 with training camps opening November 10 for the new season, but teams were told the free agency date is flexible. The agreement was made with the Walt Disney Company who also owns ESPN, and all practices, games, and housing is provided to the players at the resort. Portland, who is the current nine seed in the Western Conference, was the only one who voted no based on the beliefs of the organization and players input. They believe per sources that there were more competitive and innovative formats on the table, including those that addressed 2020 Draft Lottery odds based off the final regular season results in Orlando. With that said, the Blazers will try to make the best out of it and will be in Florida when games start in about eight weeks.
The complex will be using three different courts and there will be five or six games per day. There will be an alloted four hours between games to accommodate for overtimes, cleaning, and warm-ups. The NBA is expected to be aggressive in moving up the dates of the playoff series when the previous rounds come to an end. The Finals will have a game every other day.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season. While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts. We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways.”
