Kevin Sethre, staff writer

The NBA announced that the 2020-21 NBA season will start on Dec. 22. The previous season
ended on Oct. 11 when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 106-93 to clinch their 17 th
championship, tying the Boston Celtics for the most by any franchise in history.
The newly approved shortened 72-game regular season will begin Dec. 22. This season schedule
ensures that the league will be able to play its traditional Christmas Day games.
According to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, the 71-day offseason will be the shortest offseason in the
history of any of the four major American professional sports leagues. Holmes says that many
health officials are worried that traveling and reduced recovery time could lead to more injuries
but “league officials are confident that the reduced number of games and adjustments to reduce
travel will aid teams.” One of the changes that will be made is that teams will be playing back-
to-back games in the same city more often in order to reduce travel.
Another concern is the difference in the amount of rest between different teams. While teams
like the Lakers and Heat will only get 71 days of rest, the eight teams who were not invited to the
NBA’s Orlando bubble for the restart to the COVID-interrupted season will go more than 250
days without playing a competitive game.
The NBA will be busy these next two months with the NBA Draft being held on Nov. 18 and the
start of free agency on Nov. 20.
The NBA was successful with their resumption in the summer amidst the pandemic, so it seems
they have the trust of their players and fans in their upcoming decisions involving play during
this difficult time.