A piece by Holden Keene
Night by night, the NBA schedule goes on but a lot of our favorite players are suffering as a result of this. Last years NBA Finals, featuring the Lakers and Heat, ended in 6 games on October 11th, 2020, with the Los Angeles Lakers bringing home a title in the midst of a rough year for everyone around the world. As soon as the season concluded, the immediate question became, “When will the next season begin?”. A few meetings between league officials and players down the line, and we arrive to a December 22nd start date, granting players anywhere from 2-4 months of rest, depending on when they were sent home from “The Bubble”. As for the two finals teams, this meant they would have to lace back up a little over 2 months after winning a championship.
It can be assumed that the leagues reasoning behind this short offseason was to keep their schedule on track for the future to not compete with other sports during their primary seasons, but as we’ve seen up until this point in the playoffs, resting your athletes should be prioritized higher than receiving revenue. During the playoffs alone (currently the 2nd round), we have seen injuries to countless players; Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Mike Conley, Joel Embiid, & Kyrie Irving, to name a few.
As mentioned before, the NBA would lose revenue and viewership if they were to push back their schedule and compete with other major American sports on national television, but to have star players miss key playoff games is also detrimental to ratings. In every direction, this move by the NBA was extremely inconsiderate and unprofessional.
With players like LeBron James, one of the biggest voices in the league, speaking out against this issue, the NBA’s integrity is being questioned by those who enable it to be as successful as it is. As a message from a fan to Adam Silver, we would all be just fine with pushing back a season a bit for the benefit of the players well being, as they are the entire reason we watch the game, and without them playing, it leaves a bitter taste knowing the NBA is at direct fault for this.
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