OKC Thunder: 2020-21 Christmas start back in play for NBA

OKC Thunder fans await the results of the NBA Board of Governors’ discussions to start the 2020-21 season as early as December.

While the OKC Thunder continue their offseason the team and fans await confirmation on when next season will begin. The uncertainty of the start date was tied to the late ending of the 2019-20 campaign and the current situation that finds COVID-19 in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic. The CDC is stating the coronavirus may be at its most dangerous during the winter equating to the next four-month period.

Following a successful experiment at Walt Disney World in Orlando playing in a bubble worked perfectly with no positive COVID-19 tests. Yet, undertaking another bubble or multiple bubbles doesn’t seem feasible for next year.

Factor in the association and Board of Governors (BoG) aren’t keen to stray from the typical NBA calendar of October to early June. Having to compete with other sports this summer stole some of the desired TV ratings. And, despite fans dealing with the pandemic, TV viewership wasn’t as high as what the key stakeholders hoped for.

OKC Thunder 2020-21 season could start in December

This has led to the thinking the powers that be are committed to starting the 2020-21 season sooner rather than later.  To that end, on Friday, October 23rd the BoG met to discuss this very topic. This group has a tight framework to meet since the deadline to make any amendments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement is October 30th. The NBA Draft is set for November 18th and will be held virtually via the ESPN studios (similar to how the WNBA held their draft).

The likelihood is the season will start slightly before Christmas to allow for another key event to occur – – opening night with the Lakers receiving their championship rings. The presumption is for another shortened itinerary of 70 to 72 games in order to realign with the typical season calendar with the 2021-22 season returning to the October start date.

As per Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, this would likely mean the removal of the All-Star festivities but retaining the play-in tournament next season.

"Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is proposing several changes to next season that include a 72-game regular season, a play-in tournament and the likelihood of no All-Star Game or All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, sources said. The league is considering a two-week break at the midway point of the season, sources said."

Keep in mind the Toyko Olympics will occur next summer in late July and presumably, the league and superstars will want to participate. Being present at the Olympics would allow the NBA to reestablish their presence worldwide and gain new fans in the process.

The window for the BoG is very small since the association promised the NBPA they would give them at least an eight-week window in order to properly prepare. Considering they are looking at a start date near Christmas it means a decision needs to be made this week.

While the Lakers and Heat won’t have much turnaround time it’s also important to remember eight teams haven’t played since mid-March.

This also means there will be extremely tight timelines for the NBA Draft and Free Agency with little preparation time. Typically, rookies would get drafted in June and have close to four months prior to the first game, and free agents who sign immediately get a little over three months’ preparation time. These revised timelines would equate to rookies and free agents having approximately a month with their new teams before the start of the season.

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The other factor involved in next season would be attendance at games. Initially, it’s likely teams will play without fans and eventually have reduced attendance with safe spacing. That’s a big consideration given fans account for approximately 40 percent of team revenues.

Clearly, the NBA is keen to get their schedule back on track and TV revenues seem to be the larger factor.  The association currently owns Christmas Day a holiday that has become synonymous with the NBA. Missing out on playing games on that date could result in the NFL sneaking in and stealing the holiday and the high TV ratings associated with it.

With that, it’s likely the 2020-21 season will start shortly prior to Christmas with another shortened season in order to get back on track for the 2021-22 season.

Buckle up OKC Thunder fans, we could be in for a jam-packed period of four to five weeks featuring the NBA draft, free agency, and season start.