Miami Heat Will Make Quick Turnaround After Players Agree to Dec. 22 Start

So much for an offseason for the Miami Heat.

Late Thursday night the NBA Players Association voted to approve the league's proposal to start the season Dec. 22. Teams will play a 72-game schedule. The last time the season began this late was 2011 because of the lockout.

For the Heat, it means they are back on the court less than two months after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. Under normal circumstances, teams are off at least three months after concluding the season.

"Additional details remain to be negotiated and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season," the NBPA released in a statement."

The league is moving forward despite hosting the draft Nov. 18 and still awaiting a date to start the free agency period. Last season ended four months later than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic suspension in March.

Heat forward Andre Iguodala, the vice president of the NBPA, recently said player safety was the main concern but apparently most are comfortable with the early start.

"We always think of player health as the No. 1 factor in all the decisions that we make," Iguodala told ESPN earlier this week. "Being in the COVID, first and foremost, and at the same time the recovery of some of the teams that went late in the season."

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