The NBA will be back to a typical schedule for the 2021-22 season with the regular season tipping off on Oct. 19, according to Shams Charania.
The league memo sent to teams today confirms the return of a normal October-June calendar.
The list of key dates for next season:
- Sept. 28: Training camp starts
- Oct. 19: Regular season starts
- April 16: Playoffs start
- June 2: Finals Game 1
- June 19: Finals Game 7
- June 23: 2022 NBA Draft
The NBA has been operating on a different, condensed schedule and offseason in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on July 29 and free agency is expected to begin shortly after in early August, so this offseason will last around two months before training camp for next season opens on Sept. 28.
A recent report from ESPN indicated that “in talks between the players’ union, the league and network partners, the decision was collectively made to return the league’s schedule to normalcy as quickly as possible rather than over a period of several years” and all sides involved made that happen.
