Report: NBA Plans To Return With 22 Teams, 8 Regular Season Games
Jun 3, 2020, 10:15 AM | Updated: 11:07 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made his plans for the NBA season to return. Silver’s proposal will welcome 22 NBA teams to the Disney World Resorts in Orlando. As expected, the top eight teams in both the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference will travel to Orlando, including the Utah Jazz.
Included in the full 22 team slate, the NBA will invite the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs to finish their regular season from the West. The Washington Wizards will travel to Orlando from the East.
Each team will play eight regular-season games at the Disney Resort to determine the seeding of the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sources: Joining the 16 current playoff teams in Orlando: New Orleans, Portland, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Antonio in the West and Washington in the East. If the 9th seed is more than 4 games behind the 8th, No. 8 makes playoffs; Fewer than 4 games, a play-in tournament.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2020
The conclusion of the regular season may also feature a play-in tournament to determine the final playoff spot in both conferences. The play-in tournament will occur if the ninth seed is within four games of the eighth seed at the end of the regular season. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the final spot would be earned in the tournament via double elimination.
Yahoo Sports Keith Smith reported that the NBA’s agreement with Disney is nearly complete.
Per Disney sources, Walt Disney World is preparing to have at least 2000 rooms available for the NBA. That number is based on roughly 70 people per team x 22 teams + extras. Per team # is potentially a bit high, but covers for additional non-team personnel (ie. media) if allowed.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 3, 2020
NBA to Vote on Propsal to 22 Teams
Silver’s proposal will be made Thursday to the NBA’s Board of Governors. The proposal is expected to pass nearly unanimously.
Last week, it was reported the NBA is targeting a return date of July 31. On Monday, Wojnarowski reported that the NBA hopes to complete game seven of the Finals no later than October 12.
That would allow the NBA to host the final eight games of the regular season over the first 2-3 weeks of August. The postseason would run for roughly two months to complete the season.
After Thursday’s vote, the NBA must determine when teams will need to recall players to their host cities. The league had previously proposed a 25-day return to action plan. That would include 11 days of condition before hosting a two-week training camp before restarting the regular season.
