In a meeting on Thursday with the Board of Governors, the NBA proposed a 22-team format to resume the 2019-2020 season.
Plans for the draft lottery and combine are also included in the proposal. They’re expected to take place in August.
The 22-team format would take place at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and each team would play eight regular season games for playoff seeding purposes.
A play-in tournament for the eighth seed was proposed as well. It would work as follows:
- If the eighth seed is up four games or more (at the completion of the regular season) on the ninth seed, the eight seed earns the playoff spot
- If the ninth seed is down four games or less than the eighth seed, the eighth and ninth seeds will play a double-elimination tournament for the eighth playoff spot
The New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Washington Wizards will be the six additional teams joining the 16 current playoff teams.
The league is targeting July 31 for a resumption, with Oct. 12 as a target date for the conclusion of the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
So the NBA's inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify.
The NBA's back.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2020
Medical protocols that are expected to be proposed include players being unable to shower in the arena and needing to do so in their hotel rooms, social distancing on the bench with inactive players sitting in the stands, and no guests until the playoffs.
The league’s proposal is based on “feedback, collaborative discussions and input from constituents from around the league,” per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
