2020–21 NBA season

The COVID-19 pandemic in North America, which pushed the conclusion of the previous 2019–20 season and playoffs into the fall, had delayed the start date of training camp to November 10, 2020.[32] The preseason began on December 11, 2020, and ended on December 19, 2020.[33]

The start of the 2020–21 regular season was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA initially set a target date of December 1, 2020, to start the regular season.[34] However, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested further delaying the season until at least January because local health orders at each NBA city would limit fan attendance. The NBA receives 40 percent of its revenue from attendance, and thus delaying the season until it is safer to let more fans into the arenas would ease the financial pain.[34][35] The NBA also contemplated organizing the schedule such that teams would have less travel, with back-to-back games in the same cities against the same opponent.[36] National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts also suggested that the season might eventually have to start inside a "bubble" environment, similar to the 2020 playoffs.[37]

On October 13, the NBA delayed the targeted start date of the regular season from December 2020 to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18, 2021.[38] Later in October, Sports Illustrated reported that the NBA was targeting December 22, 2020, as the first day of the season.[39] On November 5, 2020, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) tentatively approved a 72-game regular season that will begin on December 22, 2020. The season is expected to feature a condensed schedule so that the NBA Finals could be played once again in June, which will allow NBA players to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics; the Olympics were postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[32][40][41]

On November 17, the NBA announced that the 72-game regular season would run from December 22 through May 16. Each team would play three games against each opponent from its own conference and two games against each interconference opponent. The season would include a six-day All-Star break from March 5 to 10, although the 2021 NBA All-Star Game and related weekend festivities have since been postponed.[42][43] The break serves to separate the two halves of the season. The schedule will be released in two parts. The first half was released in early December, while the second half will be released in the later part of the first half.[1]

The NBA will stage a "Play-in tournament" for teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference from May 18–21. The 7th place team will play the 8th place team, with the winner earning the 7-seed. The 9th place team will play the 10th place team with the loser of that game being eliminated. The 7th-8th loser will then play the 9th-10th winner, with the winner of that game earning the 8-seed and the loser being eliminated.[1]

The playoffs will begin on May 22 and operate under the standard playoff format, with four rounds of best-of-seven series. The 2021 NBA Finals will begin no later than July 8, with a potential Game 7 no later than July 22.[1]

On July 21, 2020, the NBA and Nike announced that the "Statement Edition" uniforms would switch to the Air Jordan label.[72]

• The Denver Nuggets' home arena, formerly known as the Pepsi Center, was renamed Ball Arena on October 22, 2020.[73]
• The Phoenix Suns' home arena, formerly known as Talking Stick Resort Arena, was renamed Phoenix Suns Arena after the naming rights deal expired on November 6, 2020.[74]

This is the fifth year of the current nine-year contracts with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.[80]

To reduce on-site staff, ESPN and TNT will leverage the home team's rightsholder as a host broadcaster for some of their games. They will send a neutral "world feed" and other camera feeds to the network, which will then add commentary and surrounding coverage. ESPN and TNT are also deploying additional cameras specific to their broadcasts, and ESPN may provide a supplemental on-site presence if the local broadcaster does not have enough capacity to support the host model. ESPN stated that some (roughly half) of their games, particularly marquee games exclusive to ESPN and ABC, would be produced on-site with an existing hybrid model (where some producers and graphics operators work from ESPN's studios in Bristol, Connecticut). TNT also planned to begin doing some games on-site beginning with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.[81][82]

On December 26, 2020, it was announced that Fox Sports Networks had acquired rights to simulcast 36 Toronto Raptors games locally in the Tampa Bay area through at least the first half of the season. All of the games will be carried via the Fox Sports Go app, with selected games to also air on television via Fox Sports Sun (15) and Fox Sports Florida (2).[83]

• On December 26, 2020, Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards became the fourth player to record triple-doubles in the first two games of a season.[84] On December 29, he became the second player after Oscar Robertson to record triple-doubles in their first three games of a season.[85]
• On December 27, 2020, the Dallas Mavericks recorded the largest ever halftime lead in a game, with a 50-point advantage over the Los Angeles Clippers (77–27).[86]
• On December 27, 2020, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors became the third player ever to reach 2,500 career 3-pointers.[87]
• On December 29, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks set a new record for most three-point field goals made in a game with 29 against the Miami Heat, breaking the previous record of 27 set by the Houston Rockets on April 7, 2019.[88]
• On December 30, 2020, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the first player to reach 1,000 consecutive regular season games with at least 10 points.[89]
• On January 1, 2021, Carmelo Anthony of the Portland Trail Blazers passed Tim Duncan for 14th on the NBA all-time scoring list.[90]
• On January 6, 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons took a knee for their first possessions in protest to the announcement that criminal charges would not be filed against police officers in the Blake shooting. The Bucks held the ball for seven seconds in reference to Blake's seven gunshots.[91] Various teams linked arms at center court in unison during the anthem in response to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[92]
• On January 7, 2021, Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat became the fastest player in NBA history to make 300 threes. He made it in a span of only 95 games, surpassing both Luka Dončić's and Damian Lillard's previous record within 117 games.[93]
• On January 8, 2021, the Toronto Raptors set a new franchise record for points in a single regular season game, scoring 144 points against the Sacramento Kings on the road.[94]
• On January 9, 2021, LaMelo Ball posted a triple-double for the Charlotte Hornets against the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the youngest player ever to record a triple-double, at the age of 19 years and 140 days. He surpassed the previous record held by Markelle Fultz, who recorded a triple-double aged 19 years and 317 days.[95]
• On January 16, 2021, James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets posted a triple-double against the Orlando Magic, becoming the seventh player to record a triple-double during his team debut.[96]
• On January 20, 2021, Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks became the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 to record 25 points, 25 rebounds and 5 blocks in a single game, doing so against the Detroit Pistons.[97]
• On January 20, 2021, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz became the fastest player to reach 600 three pointers. He did it in just 240 games, beating the previous record of 244 games set by Buddy Hield in 2019.[98]
• On January 23, 2021, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors passed Reggie Miller for 2nd place on the NBA all-time three point list.[99]
• On January 29, 2021, Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards passed Maurice Cheeks for 13th place on the NBA all-time assist list.[100]
• On January 29, 2021, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks became the fastest player to reach 400 career three pointers doing it in 159 games, surpassing the previous total of 163 games set by Damian Lillard.[101]
• On February 2, 2021, Carmelo Anthony of the Portland Trail Blazers passed Dominique Wilkins for 13th on the NBA all-time scoring list.[102]
• On February 4, 2021, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers passed Wilt Chamberlain for 3rd place on the NBA all-time field goal list.[103]
• On February 6, 2021, Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets became the first center since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to record 50 points and 10 assists.[104]

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