The NBA’s Board of Governors approved a 22-team plan to restart the 2019-20 season after voting on the proposal Thursday. The Portland Trail Blazers were the only team to vote against the proposed plan. Let’s dive into the specifics of the 22-team plan, as outlined by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
- Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is set to be the sole host, providing basketball facilities and resorts to house players
- The 16 current playoff teams are heading to Disney World, along with an additional six teams that trail their conference’s eighth seed by six games or less; those extra invitees are the Blazers, Pelicans, Suns, Kings and Spurs in the West, and the Wizards in the East
- Each of the 22 teams will play eight games in Orlando to wrap up the regular season and determine seeding before the playoffs
- A play-in tournament for the eighth seed will be triggered if the ninth seed in either conference finishes the shortened regular season four games or fewer behind the eighth-seeded team
- If a play-in tournament is necessary, the ninth seed will need to win two straight matchups against the eighth seed to earn a playoff spot; one win by eighth seed will clinch their playoff berth
- Teams will begin to prepare for the season in late June before traveling to Orlando
- Training camp in Orlando is scheduled for July 9-11, ahead of the first games on July 31
- The NBA will have “uniform, daily testing for the coronavirus within the Disney campus environment,” per Wojnarowski
- If a player tests positive for the coronavirus, that player will then be subject to individual quarantine and treatment
One thing not released on Thursday was game schedules for individual teams.