The new campaign will begin on December 22; the Draft will take place on November 18, with free agency from November 20; salary cap kept at $109.1m
Wednesday 11 November 2020 06:53, UK
The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved an agreement with the players' union regarding key details for the 2020/21 season, including the number of games, start date, salary-cap figures and free agency key dates.
The plans were originally announced on Monday following tentative agreement from the NBA players' association (NBAPA) last week.
The 2020/21 season will begin on December 22 - around two months later than usual due to the previous campaign only finishing in October following delays caused by coronavirus.
Teams will play 72 regular-season games, which is down from a typical 82-game season.
The Draft will take place on November 18, while free agency negotiations are allowed to begin from November 20. Teams can begin to sign free agents two days later.
The NBA and NBAPA have also agreed to keep the salary cap at $109.1m (£82.3m) and the luxury-tax threshold at $132.7m (£100.1m). Both figures are unchanged from last season.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap will increase between three and 10 per cent in each subsequent season, although the luxury tax would lower should league revenue decrease from one season to the next.
The announcement did not mention whether there were plans to allow any fans to attend games or what the timeframe could be for their return.
There have also been reports that, with such a short turnaround between the conclusion of the 2019/20 playoffs and the start of the 2020/21 season, some players could miss the start of the new campaign.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Danny Green warned last month that people should not expect his team-mate LeBron James to play in the first month of the new season.
