The start date of the NBA season has been a highly contested issue, but it seems as though the league and the players have finally reached an agreement.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, that date is set for December 22, meaning we'll have NBA Christmas, the season underway by MLK Day and a likely finish before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It also means that there are a total of 70 days of rest between the end of the 2020 NBA Finals (October 11) and the start of the new season (December 22), meaning this will be a historically short offseason. For reference, the 2019 offseason was 131 days long, spanning from June 13 to October 22. This shortened length has some players worrying that important figures, including LeBron James, may not show up for the first month of the season.
However, it's not like this date wasn't one we saw coming. NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the NBA was planning this exact schedule, with the important note that the season would end before the Tokyo Olympics began.
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Wojnarowski also reports that the NBA and NBPA are looking to open free agency as quickly as they can following the 2020 NBA Draft (Nov. 18), with the window for free agency already so short. Issues regarding the collective bargaining agreement and other financial terms are still yet to be agreed upon, and Wojnarowski says that those discussions will continue into next week.
A statement issued by the NBPA emphasizes that they are "confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season." Previously, it was reported that a "substantial faction" of players wanted to start the season on MLK Day.
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