In recent days, talks about the NBA’s return to action after a more-than two-month layoff due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have heated up.
While not set in stone yet, it seems the NBA has locked down a location to host the remainder of the season in Walt Disney World Resort.
There are plenty of other details that still need to be sorted out in regard to the format of the season and player safety, but it seems that all parties involved are committed to finishing the season so it’s only a matter of time before they return to action.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a conference call with the Board of Governors on Friday and while he did not have a formal vote for return-to-play scenarios, there were a number of different topics discussed.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Silver informed the Board of Governors that he is targeting a July 31 return date to finish out the season:
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league office informed Board of Governors that July 31 is a target date for return of season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 29, 2020
If that is the date the NBA is going with, that gives them two months to figure out all of the logistics while also allowing the players plenty of time to get into game shape. With practice facilities beginning to re-open, teams and players have already begun preparing for their return to action.
As far as formats for finishing out the season, the league has discussed a number of them. Such as play-in tournaments for bubble teams, a World Cup-style group stage tournament, or just bringing back the 16 teams currently in playoff spots and beginning the postseason right away.
Whichever scenario Silver chooses, the Los Angeles Lakers will be among the teams best positioned to make a championship run. They not only hold the top record in the Western Conference at 49-14, but they were playing their best basketball all season when everything shut down.
It seems that discussions are happening quickly, so the official announcement of the NBA returning at the end of July could come in the near future, which is certainly positive news with everything going on in the world right now.
