The Latest on the 2020-21 NBA Season
The 2020-21 NBA season is set to start on December 22, 2020, with each team playing 72 games. The schedule is to be released in two parts. A first half schedule will be released right around the time teams head to training camp, which will be early in December.
The second half of the schedule will be released sometime late in the first half of the season. This would allow the NBA to reschedule any games missed during the first half due to coronavirus concerns.
The All-Star Break is scheduled for March 5 through March 10 and serves as the break between the first and second halves of the season.
The 75th NBA regular season breaks down like this:
- Each team plays three games against each intra-conference opponent for a total of 42 games
- All five teams from within a division will play all five teams from another intra-conference division twice at home and all five teams from the remaining intra-conference twice on the road.
- Each team plays two games against every inter-conference opponent – one home and one away – for a total of 30 games.
The NBA just recently voted to continue the play-in tournament to decide the postseason’s seventh and eighth seeds in each conference. The teams with the seventh- and eighth-best winning percentages in each conference will have two opportunities to earn a playoff spot.
The seventh seed will play the eighth seed in the “Seven-Eight” game. The winner advances to the playoffs as the seventh seed. The loser of the Seven-Eight game will face the winner of the “Nine-Ten” game. Those will be the teams finishing ninth and tenth in each conference. The winner of that game becomes the eighth seed in the postseason.
Games will be played at home arenas. Whether or not fans will be in attendance will be a factor of state and local laws. Some states will restrict fans while others will allow fans on a limited basis.
The NBA released a tentative calendar that is subject to change.
- December 11-19, 2020 – Preseason games begin
- December 22, 2020 – Opening Night
- March 5-10, 2021 – All-Star break
- March 11-May 16, 2021 – Second half of season
- May 18-21, 2021 – Play-In tournament
- May 22-July 22, 2021 – NBA Playoffs