#NBA’s Disney restart plan gets players association approval

The National Basketball Players Association approved the NBA’s 22-team format in a call with its board and representatives on Friday afternoon, a day after the NBA’s Board of Governors agreed to the plan in a 29-1 vote, paving the way for a July 31 restart in Orlando.

Teams are expected to begin training at the Walt Disney Resort starting July 9-11, with a two- or three-game exhibition schedule preceding the eight-game regular season, followed by playoffs. Teams will have three-hour practice schedules with two courts and weight rooms available in the convention center.

The NBPA plans to test players nightly for coronavirus, opting for mouth or light nasal swabs instead of the invasive nasal version. Any player who tests positive will be quarantined for at least seven days, but it will not prevent games from continuing.

To further combat the virus, just 1,600 people will be allowed on the Disney campus, with teams having a 35-person limit to their travel parties. A limited number of family members — believed to be three per player, per The Athletic — would be allowed in after the first round of the playoffs. Players and any attending family must stay in the bubble and observe social distancing protocols.

With a schedule of five to six games per day, the league and players association discussed using crowd noise from “NBA2K” among its options, according to The Athletic.

Despite the excitement of the restart coming to fruition, there still are details to be ironed out. Most notably the proposed Dec. 1 start date of the 2020-21 season is still being negotiated because of the quick turnaround, according to a source. Game 7 of the NBA Finals is slated for Oct. 12, less than a month before a Nov. 10 training camp opening.

The Knicks, whose 21-45 record didn’t make the Disney cut and have been idle since March 11, prefer the Dec. 1 start.