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How the Coronavirus Could Forever Impact the Future of NBA

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The Olympics are usually held after every two years. And each represents the type of event that has been in the works for more than ten years. Nations bid to be the host and then put in time and energy into preparing adequately.

With all of this planning, it’s a big thing that such an event can be stopped by something bigger. This is what happened early this year as the effects of the coronavirus disease were witnessed thus leading to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics this summer to next year.

Japan had spent close to $12 billion in making adequate preparations for the event. And much of it won’t return. The travel industry has also been seriously affected by the pandemic. It’s not easy to predict how many people will be willing to travel to the event next year.

NBA and Coronavirus

For the majority of people in the US, the effects of the coronavirus disease were very serious as it is and then another disappointing thing happened – the NBA suspended the season early this year. Several games had already begun that evening. However, during the warmups of the game in Oklahoma City, it was announced that the games have been postponed. Avid fans were also requested to leave the arena.

Reports confirmed that one of the players had tested positive for the coronavirus disease. And it was later revealed to be the famous Defensive player Rudy Gobert. The following day, another player tested positive. And several more in the days to follow.

The league had previously considered playing the games with little or no fans in attendance. However, they knew that one positive test signified that the virus had a chance of spreading to more players and other personnel. Fans had to read about NBA online sports betting, as the commissioner announced that the season would be suspended for a month.

Until late May, several NBA practice facilities had been opened for players to develop and improve their skills. However, there was no clear timeline as to when the season will begin. The season that was scheduled to start in May was suspended indefinitely.

Since the NBA was the first major player to get seriously affected by the coronavirus disease, many others followed suit. As an avid fan, you can play with your favorite sportsbook on this site before NBA and other major leagues resume their seasons. No team in the US has started a new season up until now.

Life in the United States has quickly changed after the season was suspended by the NBA. The NBA is likely to start its next season on 25th December. And the pandemic presents a challenging opportunity to achieve this. However, there are a lot of problems with pushing the start of the next season.

The NBA season lasts anywhere from 230 to 240 days. This is close to eight months of pure basketball. If the 2020-21 season begins on the 25th of December, the season will end on August 2021 using the same metrics. This date will be close to the conclusion of the 2021 Olympics that are scheduled to happen in Tokyo, Japan.

The United States basketball team plans on sending the best players to the Olympics every four years. For this to happen in conjunction with the start date being 25th December, the league will have to shorten the playoffs or the season.

The playoffs are the bread and butter of the league. The chances of the league lowering its main source of revenue does not sound logical. Therefore, a shortened seasoned is highly probable. This is something that the commissioner is open to.

Conclusion

The television networks have an agreement with the NBA for a minimal number of games that will be played during the season. At the moment, this number stands at seventy. In short, the NBA can try shortening the 2020-21 season to seventy games only and tightening up their schedule for the season to end in June. This will give players enough time to train and practice before the Olympics.

The commissioner may start the next season on 25th December and shorten it to seventy days. However, this will happen temporarily. In this case, he will do his best to get the season back to normal starting October next year.

At the moment, the start of the NBA season is in direct opposition to the college football and NFL. Instead of competing with the greatest league in America for a couple of months, they will compete for only one month. A short season will not only make the commissioner happy but also the players.

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