NBA Board of Governors mulls December start for 2020-21 season

While the current NBA season is suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league’s Board of Governors is mulling the possibility of moving the start of the 2020-21 campaign to December.

The big reason?

League officials and NBA owners are concerned about attendance. And, clearly, finding a way to boost attendance is a priority.

According to published reports from the weekend, coronavirus concerns amidst the global pandemic are weighing on the minds of the NBA Board of Governors.

Not only are they dealing with the complicated logistical issues of potentially relaunching the 2019-20 NBA season in some modified form and, possibly, a scaled-down postseason tournament, but league executives are also trying to figure out what’s best for next season, too.

The current season has been on hold since March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

Mindset of NBA Board of Governors

Citing league sources, Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN’s top NBA insider, discussed the NBA Board of Governors’ rationale on delaying the start of the 2020-21 season over the weekend.

“In the middle of October when the season would normally start, you may not have the ability to put fans in there,” Wojnarowski said during an appearance on “SportsCenter.”

“Fans may not have the confidence to want to be there. But the further you push it down the road I think the league feels the more opportunity they’ll have to be able to have people in arenas for more games during the year and that’s an attractive factor right now for the NBA, whether they resume this season or not.”

Possible plan

If the NBA Board of Governors pushes back the start of the 2020-21 season, it could continue until July or August.