Hoops Are Back: NBA Board Of Governors Set To Ratify Return-To-Play Model This Thursday

Alas, the 83-day wait on the answer regarding basketball’s return this season looks like it’ll be at its end come Thursday morning, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that there indeed will be summer hoops and the crowning of a 2019-2020 NBA Champion Wednesday afternoon.

So, go ahead, un-shrug those shoulders, let go of that sigh of relief you’ve been holding in since March 11 – the day the league was suspended indefinitely due to concerns of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic – and get ready for next month’s return to the hardwood, set to tip-off on July 31.

Now, don’t expect a complete return of the full league – this isn’t like a premium subscription to some exclusive site. Instead, it’s more of like a subsidized, basic membership, one with a majority of the features to it but not the whole nine yards.

Weird analogy, but stay with me here:

Other than having all 30 teams come down to the official site at the Wide World of Sports Resort at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida, there will be 22 of the league’s 30 squads due to those 22 teams being close enough to contend for a playoff spot. A reshaping of what would be the normal NBA schedule will include 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams, eight regular-season games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed, and playoffs.

Specifically, the top 16 teams in both the East and West will be joined by teams within six games of the final spot in their respective conferences. That includes the New Orleans Pelicans, the San Antonio Spurs, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns, and Washington Wizards.

Now for this play-in tournament mentioned in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s proposal:

Per Woj – “The play-in tournament will include the No. 8 and No. 9 teams – if the ninth seed finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth, sources said. In that case, the No. 8 seed enters a double-elimination tournament, and the No. 9 seed a single-elimination tournament, sources said.”

The kinks and details regarding player safety to reduce infection and transmission of the Coronavirus as much as possible are still being worked out, and though ratification is likely in tomorrow’s meeting between Silver and the NBA Board of Governors, it’s yet to be determined if that salient talking point will raise disagreement and anxiety in picking up where the season left off amongst voters.

This new (but hopefully temporary) way of life for the league will be overseen and governed by a set of safety protocols if Orlando is set to become a bubble city for the NBA. If you were wondering if players and coaches will be allowed to go out and enjoy the “The Most Magical Place in the World”, they can. Dining at outdoor restaurants and golfing at Disney’s massive resort will be allowed – with proper implications of Social Distancing of course.

Daily testing will be a prerequisite to keep this season afloat, and if a player were to test positive for COVID-19, they will be swiftly be removed from the team, quarantined, and treated separately from the team.

These protocols set in place to maintain safety will apply to employees of the Disney resort as well. ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne reports that no staff will be allowed into players’ rooms, and hallways will be carefully managed to avoid crowding.

Though it may not be what we expect out of late-season and postseason basketball, we’re getting some form of ball thanks to the negotiations of factions like the National Basketball Player’s Association, NBA executives, and the help commissioner Silver.

We here at Sneaker Reporter are more than excited to offer you all some news about live hoops when the time comes not only as a means to keep you posted on how the rest of the season will go but really because we all needed some good news and a break from the influx of news regarding the virus and protests happening around the country and world right now.