2021 NBA Season Might Cause Problems for Canada Basketball
This year was supposed to be the year Canada Basketball broke its 20 year Olympics drought. Canadian basketball fans across the country were getting ready to see a group filled with exciting young players take the court first in Victoria, B.C. for the FIBA qualifiers and then hopefully in Tokyo for the Olympics.
Then came the pandemic.
Now, the prospect of having Canada Basketball at the Olympics seems in jeopardy with the upcoming NBA 2021 season expected to start in January, according to commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver told CNN's Bob Costas the league's goal is to have a standard, 82-game NBA season next year.
"I continue to believe that we're going to be better off getting into January," Silver said. "The goal for us next season is to play a standard season... an 82-game season and playoffs. And further, the goal would be to play games in home arenas in front of fans, but there's still a lot that we need to learn."
A standard season typically runs about six months long with a two month playoff, usually from mid-October to mid-June. If next season is to start in January with the same structure, the season likely won't end until August.
That schedule would create problems for Team Canada who is supposed to play in the FIBA qualifiers on June 20-27 with the Olympics now scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8.
"These are highly unique and unusual circumstances," Silver said. "And I think just as it is for the Olympic movement, it is for us as well. And we're just going to have to sort of find a way to meld and mesh those two competing considerations."
If the two schedules conflict, it's unlikely Canada would be able to have its NBA players playing at the qualifiers or Olympics, not to mention Raptors coach Nick Nurse who would likely be unable to coach.
