The NBPA will reportedly vote as soon as Thursday on the NBA's desired Dec. 22 start date for next season.
The National Basketball Players Association is planning on voting on a potential Dec. 22 start date for the 2020-21 season as soon as Thursday night, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
According to The Athletic, players have had several calls about next season's start date in the recent days and weeks and that the feeling from players coming out of several meetings is that a Dec. 22 start to the season is inevitable.
According to The Athletic, a Jan. 18 start date is also being considered, though, the possible financial ramifications of the start date could be significant.
Earlier this week, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported that a "substantial faction" of NBA players are pushing the league to start the 2020-21 season on Jan. 18,
"I don’t know what I think yet," NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told USA Today Sports' Mark Medina last week. "We are in the throes of discussing it and in the throes of evaluating what it means in terms of the revenue-related issues that have been raised. Frankly, we’re also spending some time trying to get information on what this means in respect to player health."
The NBA is also reportedly currently planning to begin the season without fans in the stands. It hopes to play games in home arenas in 2020-21. However, it is "open to the idea of regional pods and intra-conference scheduling," per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
According to The Athletic, a Dec. 22 start date would result in a 72-game regular season with an All-Star break that lasts for six days in early March.
Given that the Lakers took home the NBA championship on Oct. 11, the team would only have a two-month offseason. Usually, the offseason is roughly 140 days.
The 2021 NBA postseason would reportedly begin around May 22 and the finals ending in mid-July.