Dallas Basketball

Report: NBA Targeting July 31st Restart Date For Season

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Has Informed The NBA's Board Of Governors That The League Will Target July 31st As The Date To Restart The Regular Season

Matt Galatzan

DALLAS - The NBA took another important step toward returning to action on Friday afternoon, with Commissioner Adam Silver setting a target start date of July 31st for the league to resume play.  

The league has already selected their desired location for the return at Disney World in Orlando, though that location has yet to be finalized, and is now in the process of deciding how many teams will be involved in the season upon its return. 

Per a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania, the league discussed four separate scenarios in its meeting with the NBA's Board of Governors as well on Friday, including a scenario in which all 30 teams return, with a 72-game regular season and a play-in tournament is implemented. 

According to Charania, a full 30-team return seems to be the most unlikely of those scenarios.

Other scenarios included the top-8 teams from each conference heading straight to the playoffs, 20 teams playing into the playoffs with a sort of group/stage play, and a 22-team format in which there would be regular-season games to determine the final seeding for a play-in tournament. 

Per a report from The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, those 22 teams would play eight regular-season games, and the play-in tournament would aim to decide the eighth seed in each conference. 

The Dallas Mavericks, who currently hold the 7th spot over the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference by seven games, would benefit tremendously from O'Connor's scenario, with the battle for the eighth seed likely coming down to a battle between the Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans, and The Portland Trailblazers, and the Sacramento Kings.

Portland, New Orleans, and Sacramento all currently sit 3.5 games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot. 

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com. He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration.  Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network.  When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later.  Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered.  Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com

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