Silver again says NBA eyeing January for start to next season

Commissioner indicates that league remains hopeful of having fans back in buildings in some capacity.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated that the league is targeting January as the start to the 2020-21 season, with the hope that fans can return to arenas in some capacity.

Silver spoke to reporters prior to Game 1 of The Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat inside the Orlando bubble.

"I'm hoping we don't have to return to a bubble environment," Silver said, before cautioning it may be something the league again must consider.

If the league is able to begin in January, Silver suggested that training camps would start as soon as early as early to mid-December.

Basically, it will depend on the coronavirus, testing and other circumstances out of the NBA's control.

This is the second time Silver mentioned January as a potential tip off month for 2020-21, repeating a premise he shared in a CNN interview last week.

There had been talk that the 2020-21 season could tip off as early as Christmas Day, but also speculation that it could start later, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18) or even run from March until October.

Silver told CNN that the league is still hopeful of playing a "standard" season -- meaning a full 82-game schedule.

Meanwhile, players union executive director Michele Roberts previously said she doesn't envision next season tipping off in December.

"I do think we’ll have a season, but I don’t think it will begin in December," Roberts told David Gelles of the New York Times. "Some bubble-like environment may be necessary. I suspect that we will have a hybrid environment, maybe with division bubbles that last for a certain number of months, and then we stop. But the concept of putting our players in a bubble for an entire season is unrealistic."

Something else to keep in mind about next season is the summer Olympics, in which NBA players have participated since 1992.

"Even if the NBA is able to play a full 82-game season, starting it in January would ensure it runs far beyond the league’s typical end date, complicating the NBA’s ability to send players and coaches to the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to begin on July 23," wrote Luke Adams of HoopsRumors.

The eight non-Disney teams that finished with the NBA's worst records have not played since mid-March.