THE 2020 NBA season will resume on 31 July and all remaining games will be played at Disney World in Florida, according to a plan approved by the league’s board of governors.
Twenty-two teams will be based at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando to minimize the threat of Covid-19. Games will be played without spectators.
Playoffs would take place in August, with the NBA Finals set to be completed by 12 October.
The league has also penciled in a provisional 1 December start date for the 2020-2021 season.
The NBA Players Association must sign off on the restart plan for it to take effect. The NBAPA is expected to vote on the plan during a conference call set for Friday.
Silver said there are still some complex issues to be decided, including how to ensure the safety of some of their older coaches. He indicated that “certain coaches” may not be on the bench at all. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is 71, and New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is 65.
The NBA suspended its season on 11 March as the Covid-19 pandemic erupted, leaving professional sport in North America at a standstill.
Sixteen teams occupying the playoff berths in the Western and Eastern Conferences will be joined by six more teams to determine the final playoff line-up.
Nine teams from the Eastern Conference will be led by the Milwaukee Bucks and the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards complete the contingent from the East.
The Western Conference will provide 13 teams, including LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Each of the 22 teams will play eight regular-season games for seeding purposes for the postseason.
The league plans for teams to start training camps in their home cities on June 30 before travelling to Orlando on 7 July.
The league wants to have daily testing, and if a player tests positive, he would be isolated and quarantined.
The others would carry on playing while still being tested on a daily basis.
This year’s regular season was halted abruptly after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive.
Gobert, of France, was given the all-clear about two weeks later.
So far, less than a dozen NBA players have been confirmed as testing positive for the coronavirus, although not all have been identified.
The NBA is the first major professional sports league disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak in North America to confirm a return date.
