We haven’t seen a single NBA game since March 12, when Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and forced the league to suspend the season. It’s been almost three months since that moment and we’re yet to know what is going to happen with the campaign and when we’ll be watching our favorite players back in action.
Sam Amico of Sports Illustrated reports that the league is aiming at a return for late July in either Orlando or Las Vegas or even both locations.
Last week, ESPN reported teams are expecting to hear from the league early next week as to when full rosters can return to their practice facility. That is expected to be followed by 14 days of quarantine and two-to-three weeks of training camp.
It is not yet known if the league will finish the regular season or head straight to the playoffs. A report from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer said the NBA is exploring the idea of a 20-team playoff format — the 16 with the best records at the hiatus, followed by the next best four.
The league is targeting July 22 as a restart date, per @AmicoHoops pic.twitter.com/MnajovM7th
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 26, 2020
This could mean we’ll have 4 months without any NBA games. The way the league will resume action is still unknown and the options they have already started raising eyebrows in the league with players showing their disagreement with some choices.
This season was expected to be a great one before it was suspended. The things we watched until March made us believe we were about to see one of the most interesting playoffs in recent years. Now, we don’t know what is going to happen with the league, but the general consensus is that we’ll have basketball back sooner than later.
The rest of the teams, such as the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers, won’t step on an NBA court until December or January, the next season is expected to resume.
