NBA players reportedly agree to begin 2020-21 season before Christmas

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with Quinn Cook #28 of the Los Angeles Lakers and teammates after winning the 2020 NBA Championship in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

The NBA is reportedly set to begin play once again before Christmas.

The NBA Finals concluded in October and the next step was figuring out when the 2020-21 season would begin. A few options were floated out, including a start on Dec. 22.

At first there were some initial concerns that would be too soon to start. However, a Shams bomb from The Athletic’s Shams Charania was dropped Thursday night and it appears NBA basketball will return before Christmas.

The National Basketball Players Association has voted to tentatively approve NBA’s proposal for the 2020-21 campaign starting on Dec. 22 and playing 72-game season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

NBA set to tip off Christmas week.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 6, 2020

NBA decides upon a return date

Getting the Christmas Day television revenue was a huge deal for the league. Now teams will wait to see how the schedule is constructed, assuming this deal does not fall through.

The only teams facing an extremely short offseason are the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. One option would be for the NBA to give both teams a light schedule at the start of the season, and maybe ramp things up in mid-January.

There are plenty of logistics to be worked out, and the good news is both sides seemingly came together without any drama. Free agency is one major thing that must be figured out if the season is going to start in December. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was on the case as he explains the process may start as soon as possible:

The NBA and NBPA are expected to discuss moving up the start of free agency as early as possible to accommodate players joining new teams so close to a Dec. 1 start of training camps, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 6, 2020

Things are not going to be normal, at least at the start of the 2020-21 season. And it is still far too early to even guess when fans will be allowed into arenas. But avoiding any sort of shutdown is great news and ensures there are not catastrophic financial losses as players and owners fight over money, such as what was seen in baseball this past summer.

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A 72-game season starting right before Christmas is a great win for the NBA. The biggest day of the regular season stays intact and perhaps this sets up a new structure in which Christmas is the new start of the season.

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