Adam Silver hopes to kick off next NBA season in October

The NBA dreams of a return to normal as of next season. In any case, this is the wish of its commissioner, Adam Silver, who said it this Friday in an interview with ESPN by evoking the next calendar: « Our plan, for the moment, is to start in mid-October of this year ».

The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed upset the traditional calendar of the League, last season and this year. Only a few weeks have passed between the end of the NBA Finals in the Florida bubble and the start of the 2020-21 regular season, reduced from 82 games to 72 games, in December 2020. The current season will therefore end for more weeks. later than the usual schedule which ends the second week of June. « We are going to have to do a slightly shorter off-season to get back on time », said Silver.

A tight schedule at risk

Several players, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, have been frank about the tight schedule, citing the risk of injury. James missed several weeks of competition this season with a sprained ankle and his teammate Anthony Davis suffered an even longer absence after a calf injury.

The Lakers and Miami Heat had the shortest rest period last offseason, due to the last finals held in early fall 2020 and won by Los Angeles. Usually an NBA season starts from mid-October to the end of October and ends in June. This season could go until July 22 if there are seven games in the NBA Finals.