It is Official!

After many predictions and proposals, the NBA finally has a start date after a very short offseason. After Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took home the Larry O’Brien trophy on October 11, there was quick speculation on when the next season would start. Would the season follow the usual protocol and give the players a good amount of time to rest and vacation from the grueling combination of COVID-19 and highly competitive NBA season, or will they start back sooner than expected to try to get future seasons to end in June once again? It took the players very little time to decide on what they wanted to happen.

On November 5, 2020, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) approved the ruling of the NBA season starting early after many players expressed their desires to play and begin tip-off on December 22. Now if you do the math, the amount of days between the season start up and the last day of the NBA Finals is exactly 71 days. According to USA Today, this is the shortest amount of time between the ending and beginning of back to back seasons in the history of the NBA, MLB, NFL, and the NHL. Then why would the NBA players be eager to come back so soon? Here are all the things to answer your question.

First, it makes sense for the league financially. Basketball is one of the main sports that people watch in December, so they already have great ratings. When you combine that with the fact that it will be the season opener, the amount of revenue and publicity the NBA will get will be staggering. Secondly, besides the teams that were able to enter in the Bubble, which was a campus-like area located in Disney World, Florida where the best NBA teams entered to try and compete in the playoffs, there were a good amount of teams who didn’t get to play since last March. So the players from these teams are more than ready to get back on the floor. Next, the league is trying to get back to its organized, structured ways. When the league runs during scheduled months in October through June, the events that fans all over the world look forward to can come into play. It also allows all of the athletes to be done by April through June, which would lead to more rest time for relaxation and preparation for the next season.

In a span of days, fans will be able to watch one of our beloved sports once again. From the rim-rocking dunks, flashy passes, and relentless competitive nature, December 22 will be a great day for the basketball world. This could also be a step forward to things going back to normal. Maybe, just maybe.