
Getty The Lakers and Bucks are two of the top championship contenders when the NBA season resumes play.
The NBA season will resume play in Orlando on Thursday, July 30 with the playoffs set to start on Monday, August 17. The Jazz and Pelicans will be the first game in Orlando at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on July 30. This will be followed by a Los Angeles showdown as the Clippers square off with the Lakers at 9 p.m.
“NBA restart schedule notes:- Maximum seven games per day, tip-offs between 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. – Three total courts, two for national TV,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweeted.
If there are play-in games, they will take place on August 15-16. The NBA released the full schedule for the 22 teams heading to Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando but everything is subject to change based on how COVID-19 continues to impact the country.
There has been growing concern about the viability of the NBA resuming play at Disney given the rising cases in Florida. NBA commissioner Adam Silver noted that the league is “still very comfortable being in Orlando” thanks to the stringent guidelines put in place for the Disney campus.
“My ultimate conclusion is that we can’t outrun the virus, and that this is what we’re gonna be living with for the foreseeable future — which is why we designed the campus the way we did,” Silver said, per ESPN. “And so it’s a closed network; and while it’s not impermeable, we are in essence protected from cases around us. At least, that’s the model. So for those reasons, we’re still very comfortable being in Orlando.”
Despite the NBA season resuming as planned, Silver admitted that “the level of concern has increased.” Silver added that the NBA is prepared to continue playing even if there are positive tests but “significant spread of coronavirus through our community…might lead to us stopping.”
“If we were to have significant spread of coronavirus through our community, that ultimately might lead us to stopping,” Silver explained to ESPN. “But we’re working closely with the players’ association, with Disney, and with public health officials in Florida as to what that line should be. And it hasn’t been precisely designed. I think we want to get down on the ground and start to see how our testing’s working and how the protocols are working and then we’ll make decisions as we go.”
22 NBA Teams Will Resume Play in Disney
There will be 22 NBA teams resuming play in Orlando with every squad having a chance to make the playoffs. NBA players do have the choice to opt-out of playing at Disney with no significant punishment. We have already seen a number of players announce they are not participating including Trevor Ariza, Avery Bradley, Davis Bertans and Willie Cauley-Stein are among the players who have opted out.
The following list of NBA teams will be playing in Orlando: New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies.
Here is a look at the full NBA schedule in Orlando.
NBA Schedule Orlando: 1st Games at Disney on July 30-31
DATE | TEAMS | TIME (ET)/TV |
Thurs., July 30 | Jazz vs. Pelicans | 6:30 p.m. TNT |
Thurs., July 30 | Clippers vs. Lakers | 9 p.m. TNT |
Fri., July 31 | Magic vs. Nets | 2:30 p.m. |
Fri., July 31 | Celtics vs. Bucks | 6:30 p.m. ESPN |
Fri., July 31 | Grizzlies vs. Blazers | 9 p.m. |
Fri., July 31 | Rockets vs. Mavs | 9 p.m. ESPN |
Fri., July 31 | Kings vs. Spurs | 9 p.m. |
Fri., July 31 | Suns vs. Wizards | 9 p.m. |
Lakers Orlando Schedule: 8 Games & Matchups
DATES | TEAMS |
July 30 | Lakers vs. Clippers |
August 1 | Lakers vs. Raptors (ESPN) |
August 3 | Lakers vs. Jazz (ESPN) |
August 5 | Lakers vs. Thunder (ESPN) |
August 6 | Lakers vs. Rockets |
August 8 | Lakers vs. Pacers |
August 10 | Lakers vs. Nuggets |
August 13 | Lakers vs. Kings |
NBA ESPN Quadrupleheader: Saturday, August 1
TEAMS | TIME(ET)/TV |
Heat vs. Nuggets | 1 p.m. ESPN |
Jazz vs. Thunder | 3:30 p.m. ESPN |
Pelicans vs. Clippers | 6 p.m. ESPN |
Lakers vs. Raptors | 8:30 p.m. ESPN |
NBA Schedule Orlando: Top Games for Week 2
DATE | TEAMS | TIME(ET)/TV |
August 2 | Blazers vs. Celtics | 3:30 p.m. ABC |
August 2 | Bucks vs. Rockets | 8 p.m. ABC |
August 3 | Grizzlies vs. Pelicans | ESPN |
August 6 | Lakers vs. Rockets | TNT |
NBA Revised Calendar 2020: Playoffs, Finals, Draft & Free Agency
Here is a look at the revised NBA schedule, courtesy of ESPN. Events marked with an asterisk are if necessary.
DATE | EVENT |
July 9-29 | Training Camp/Scrimmages |
July 30 | Regular Season Resumes |
August 15-16 | Play-in Games* |
August 17 | NBA Playoffs Start |
August 25 | NBA Draft Lottery |
August 31 | Conference Semifinals Start |
Sept. 15-28 | NBA Conference Finals |
Sept. 30-Oct.13 | NBA Finals |
October 16 | NBA Draft |
October 18 | Free-Agency Negotiations Start |
October 23 | Free-Agency Begins |
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