NBA prepares for second successful COVID season

By: Gavin McAferty

After what Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, called “the longest season ever,” the 2019 NBA Season ended with a Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals victory, that left not only fans but the administration itself wondering what the 2021 season will look like.

Players and owners approved on Nov. 5, the Dec. 22 start date for the 2020-2021 NBA season, along with a 72 game season. They have not decided if there will be a bubble environment, but players aren’t very fond of participating in it again. This includes Christmas Day games and allows for a season that finishes before the summer ends. This season is worth anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion, though the league does not expect fans to be present in arenas at the start of the season. The NBA may decide that regional bubbles may be the only way to safely return. For now, the league wants to open up on Christmas, hoping to resume the season in time to reclaim its marquee television day.

A couple players aren’t very fond of the new season’s start time, Lebron James more specifically has voiced his opinion on the fact that he just won the championship a few weeks ago and then they’re already starting back up in a month. James took to Instagram to show his annoyance with the fact that there is 71 days between the end and start of a new season, which would be the shortest offseason in the history of all professional sports.

Lebron’s teammate, Danny Green, has said that Lebron James may sit the first 10 games of the season for load management. “I think most guys, if you say they’re starting in December, I think they’re like, ‘I’m not going to be there,” Green said.

This also means the NBA Draft is affected. It was held a month after the finals, taking place on Nov. 18, and rookies had just 34 days for preparation of their NBA debuts. The top 4 prospects in the draft were Lamelo Ball, James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards, and Obi Toppin.

Pandemic aside, there’s a lot to look forward to next season. The Lakers will be defending champs, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant are all coming back, and all the teams records reset! Luka Doncic’s emergence as an MVP candidate gives the Mavericks hope for being a championship contender, but they need Kristaps Porzingis to stay healthy for that to happen. Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals last season but failed to make it back to the NBA Finals after losing to the Miami Heat. Boston is another underdog team that could make a finals run under their brilliant head coach, Brad Stevens.

This will be one of the most interesting seasons in a while because there are no super teams such as the Golden State Warriors with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry and the Miami Heat big three previously. Now there are the revamped Brooklyn Nets with Kyrie and Kevin Durant; the young Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis; and Boston Celtics with Jayson Tatum. Then the veteran riddled teams that include the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers/Lakers.

The Philadelphia 76ers are very underrated due to them not doing much in the playoffs last season. They have all the young talent they need with players like Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle, and Tobias Harris. The last piece of the puzzle was Al Horford, who was acquired through free agency. The 34-year-old center will have an opportunity to help this team succeed next season. The 76ers are so confident in Horford that they gave him a $109 million dollar contract. Now the biggest reason the 76ers will make a big jump from last year is because they fired head coach Brett Brown and hired Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers is much more smart situationally and brings a lot more to the table, a breath of fresh air some might say.

This season will be entertaining to watch even in the regular season, which hasn’t been the case in a while because there are usually been 1-4 teams that just dominate. This year will most likely be very even and spread out. Even young mediocre teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans are believed to be able to win a lot of games and make a run in playoffs. Another reason regular season games will be watched more is because there are ten less games being played.

Although it came very fast and no one is certain how it will happen, many are ready to see this season unfold.