The NBA will give eight weeks notice ahead of its planned start date for the 2020-21 season, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Multiple sources have told Amico Hoops the league is currently aiming to tip off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18), but sources have cautioned even that target date remains very tentative.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently suggested the league is hopeful of playing games in home arenas in front of at least a small gathering of fans — though like everything, all of it will be determined on how to best safely navigate around the coronavirus.
Silver has also indicated the NBA is hopeful of playing at least as close to an 82-game as possible.
As Hollinger noted, a schedule where each team plays four games per week would enable the regular season to be completed in a little more than 150 days. One of the goals in this plan would be to reduce travel among the teams as much as possible.
If the NBA were indeed planning to tip off Jan. 18, and follows the eight-week notification report, that notification would be given Nov. 23.
