The NBA and NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) have agreed to final terms to restart to 2019-20 NBA season.
The season is restarting July 30th at the Disney Campus located near Orlando Florida. Many of the things agreed upon were already assumed such as health and safety, the number of teams invited, and playing games without any fans in attendance.
Commissioner Adam Silver said the following in a statement regarding the final terms and restart.
“We have worked together with the Players Association to establish a restart plan that prioritizes health and safety, preserves competitive fairness and provides a platform to address social justice issues. We are grateful to our longtime collaborator Disney for its role in playing host and making this return to play possible, and we also thank the public health officials and infectious disease specialists who helped guide the creation of comprehensive medical protocols and protections.”
They released the schedule for the 88 seeding games on NBA.com on Friday. The following statement and explanation are above the schedule.
“All 2019-20 NBA season restart games are played across three venues at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida and will begin on July 30. Based on a competitive format approved by the NBA Board of Governors and the NBPA, 22 teams will return to play during the 2019-20 NBA season. The 22 teams consist of the 16 teams (eight per conference) in current playoff positions and the six teams that are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in their respective conferences.”
Opening night will feature an exciting doubleheader. During the first game, the Utah Jazz will take on Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. The late game on opening night will be the Los Angeles Clippers against the Los Angeles Lakers. Basketball will be officially back after those exciting matchups.
While there are finally some things in place the NBA will have to take it day by day. They recently tested over 300 players and 16 of those tests came back positive. That number isn’t alarming but it will be interesting to see how the NBA handles COVID during the restarted season.
