NBA Game Days in 2021 Will Look More Normal

The in-game experience will return to some semblance of normalcy in the NBA this season.

Shams Charania from The Athletic and Stadium reported on Wednesday that the league is returning the normal team bench seating ahead of this upcoming season.

Sources: The NBA will return to normal team bench seating for the 2021-22 season, with teams no longer requiring cool down/timeout chairs or assigned seats. Game day personnel are currently expected to be required to wear facemasks at start of season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 1, 2021

Since the league returned to action in the Orlando Bubble, the team bench area was subject to strict social distancing, with each player assigned their own seat, towels and drink allotment.

The added space should permit fans to return to court side seating as well, though there will be an extra layer of hoops those fans will have to jump through.

“Fans within 15 feet of the court must be fully vaccinated or return a negative coronavirus test prior to the game,” Charania reported on Twitter.

The announcement comes on the heels that game day personnel in the NBA will continue to wear masks, at least for the start of the season.

This should come as welcome news especially in Oklahoma City, as they were the lone holdout at the end of last year on keeping fans from attending games.

When Thunder fans pour into the Paycom Center for the first time in 2021, they’ll be able to return to something resembling as close to a “normal” game day atmosphere as possible for the first time in 17 months.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have yet to release a statement pertaining to game day protocols and procedures, but as vaccination rates rise across the country, fans will finally be able to see the Thunder play at home.

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