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The NBA expects stadiums to be filled again next season and a return to its normal schedule, Commissioner Adam Silver said on Saturday (Sunday Manila time), while again warning that each plan hinges on continued progress in the fight. ongoing against coronavirus. .
There are no plans for the league to travel abroad next season for exhibitions or regular-season games, Silver said, meaning that recent preseason trips to foreign markets like China, Japan or India won’t be repeated until at least 2022.
But if not, things may largely appear to be back to normal, with the NBA looking at a return to the 82-game schedule, beginning in October and ending in June.
“I’m pretty optimistic, at this point, that we can get started on time,” Silver said from Atlanta at his annual press conference leading up to the All-Star Game. “About half of our teams have fans in their arenas right now, and if vaccines continue at the rate they are and continue to be as effective as they have been against the virus and its variants, we are hopeful that we will have relatively full arenas. next season too. “
The league had 171 games canceled last season due to the pandemic, one of the reasons revenue projections were lost by around $ 1.5 billion, and this season it will be at least 150 games short of the usual total, with more significant financial losses.
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All teams are scheduled to play 72 games instead of the usual 82, with only about half of the league admitting fans and those that have opened their doors do so for only a small percentage of normal capacity.
“This past season and this season has required significant investment from the team owners,” Silver said. “They accept that. The players will end up getting a reduction in salary this season because they are partners of the league and the teams in revenue. The league executives, the team executives have reduced their salary. But I think when everyone We take a step back, we all feel very fortunate to work in these circumstances and my feeling is that the players feel the same. “
Silver’s press conference was virtual this season for the first time, held via Zoom, like virtually every other league business this year, due to the pandemic and the league’s protocols for health and safety. A year ago, at All-Star Weekend in Chicago, about a month before the NBA’s decision on March 11, 2020, to suspend the season following news that Rudy Gobert of Utah tested positive for COVID. -19, Silver warned there was “a major national campaign, if not global, health crisis” looming regarding the virus.
What Silver said might not have sounded many alarms at the time. Less than a month later, the virus began to dominate all aspects of life around the world, and has continued ever since.
“One thing we’ve all come to understand over the last year is that the virus is firmly in charge,” Silver said.
VACCINE FOR COVID-19
Silver said he was not aware of any player who has been vaccinated yet. Some coaches, including Gregg Popovich of San Antonio, have been vaccinated.
Silver also said that it is not a prerequisite for players to get vaccinated to achieve the league’s goal of having fans back in the arenas as usual next season.
“I don’t think every player needs to get vaccinated for the fans to come back,” Silver said. “I mean, that’s not something the health authorities have suggested to us.”
The league has been working to educate players and teams on the benefits of receiving the vaccine when they are eligible and when it is most available. “My feeling is that most will ultimately decide that they should get vaccinated,” Silver said.
