:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67449972/1228114546.jpg.0.jpg)
The NBA brass is doing their damnedest to push the 2020-21 season clear our of 2020. First they moved the draft back a month, to Nov. 18. That left precious little time before the end of the year, but some people still held out hope that the league could start at Christmas.
Don’t bet on it. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t expect the league to come back before January.
Adam Silver, in a CNN interview with Bob Costas, said the goal for 20-21 is "to play a standard season." Said Christmas start is best case, but unlikely. The start of 20-21 season, he said, is "better off getting into January." Said goal to play in home arenas, in front of fans.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) September 22, 2020
I’m opposed to this late start for a number of petty reasons. First, I want Knicks basketball back ASAP. Screw the playoffs, screw the finals...cancel it all and just start next season! Second, my wife and I are expecting our first child in December, and I had previously hoped to enjoy a final game or two freed from the burdens of fatherhood. Just let me scream at the TV one more time without fear of waking a sleeping baby!
Finally, as a basketball fan who pretty much never attends games in person, I find this idea of postponing the season in hopes that fans will be back in the stands incredibly naive. Yes, football is allowing some fans in stadiums, but 1. those stadiums are outdoors and 2. they shouldn’t be doing it anyway. Will there be a vaccine distributed to the general population by next spring that will allow fans in the stands at NBA arenas? I doubt it.
And so we wait...and wait, and wait some more for our beloved Knicks to return to the court.