The 2020-21 NBA season was the NBA’s 75th season. However, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for the participating teams because of the pandemic. Teams entered this season 72 days after the 2020 NBA finals completion, which marked the shortest off-season in the league’s history. Nevertheless, the fact that there seemed to be more basketball events to wager on was great news for basketball betting fans. If you are one of them, consider Bettingnews88 for the latest betting news. Keep reading this piece for a recap of the 2021 NBA season.
Preseason
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, the conclusion of the 2019-20 season and playoffs were pushed into the fall. As a result, the start of the start date of the training camp was delayed until November 10, 2020. On the other hand, the preseason was also pushed, and it began on December 11 to December 19.
Regular Season
As mentioned earlier, the start of the 2020-21 season was delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The local health orders at different NBA cities limited fan attendance; hence the NBA opted to delay the season until January. This is because 40% of the NBA’s revenue is from match attendance.
The other options it contemplated included reducing team travel and having teams play back-to-back matches against the same opponents in the same city. Later, the NBA stated that the season would feature a condensed schedule to allow players to participate in the Olympics.
Additionally, the NBA agreed that the 72-game regular season would commence on December 22 and run to May 16. Each participating team would play three matches against each opponent from its conference and two games against each interconference opponent. Besides that, the season will also include an all-star break that lasts six days.
Some Games Were Postponed
There were several games postponed because of the COVID-19. Besides that, other games were postponed for other reasons, such as the winter storm in Texas and feared unrest because of Daunte Wright’s killing.
All-Star Weekend
The NBA All-Star Game for 2021 was scheduled and played on March 7, 2021. LeBron James and Kevin Durant captained the teams. LeBron’s team won the match 170-150.
Toronto Raptors Were Relocated To Tampa Temporarily
The NBA denied the Toronto Raptors permission to hold their home games in Toronto. This was after the Canadian Federal Government claimed that cross-border trips by the team would be a health risk. In this regard, the Raptors looked at several cities and settled for Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Other Occurrences Of The Season Include:
The NBA announced that Spalding was the league’s official ball supplier, and the partnership would end after the season. On the other hand, Washington Wizards and Russell Westbrook became the fourth player to manage triple-doubles in the season’s first two games.
The Dallas Mavericks also entered the NBA history books by becoming the first team to record the largest ever halftime lead in a game. They had a 50 – point advantage over the Los Angeles Clippers (77-27). Additionally, Russell Westbrook passed Maurice Cheeks to become the 13th in the NBA all-time assist list.
Finally, Nikola Jovic became the first-ever Denver Nuggets player of Serbian descent and the lowest-drafted player to be named NBA MVP. So, what was your most notable event of the 2020-21 NBA season?
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