The American Basketball League (NBA) 2020-21 season, which has changed its regular season format due to the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) epidemic, will start on Wednesday, December 23.
On the opening day of the 75th season of the NBA, which started in 1946 under the name of the American Basketball Association (BAA), 2 matches will be played. The first game of the new season pits Stephen Curry against former Golden State Warriors teammates Kevin Durant, who was off the pitch last year due to injuries.
Durant’s team Brooklyn Nets, who have not played in any official game since the 5th match of the 2019 final series, where the Achilles tendon was broken, will host the Warriors, who played only 5 games last season due to a broken hand and wrist.
Durant, who was the top scorer 4 times in his career, once the most valuable player (MVP) of the regular season and 2 times of the final series, will wear the jersey of the Nets, which he agreed with in the summer of 2019.
Former all-star basketball player Steve Nash, who took office at the Nets in September, will have his first experience as head coach.
Los Angeles city teams will also meet on the same day. LeBron will host the last champion Lakers, the Clippers worn by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, driven by the James-Anthony Davis duo.
The number of national basketball players in the NBA has dropped to 2
Milwaukee Bucks released Ersan Ilyasova, who scored 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in his 12-year NBA career. Thus in the league, Turkey National Team of the Cedi Osman and stayed Furkan Korkmaz.
Cedi, who has a double digit number average for the last 2 seasons, and Furkan, who reached the highest average of his career with 9.8 points last season, will be his 4th year in the NBA.
The Cleveland Cavaliers wearing Cedi’s jersey and the Philadelphia 76ers, played by Furkan, will hit the field on the second day of the league. Cavaliers will host Charlotte Hornets and the 76ers will host Washington Wizards.
On the second day of 13 matches, Anthony Edwards, who was selected first in Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2020 draft, will also step into his professional career against the Detroit Pistons.
Teams will play 10 matches less in the regular season
The late ending last season due to the pandemic caused the new season to start in December instead of October.
In the 2020-21 regular season, where the NBA management has changed its format, for this reason, 72 matches will be played instead of 82. The last 4 teams to participate in the play-offs will be determined by the play-in tournament between the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th places in their conferences.
Accordingly, the winner of the match between the teams that finished the regular season between 7 and 8 in the East and West conferences will rise to the play-offs in 7th place. The defeated team will face the winner of the fight between the 9th and 10th. Teams that win this match will also receive play-off tickets from the 8th place.
The post-break games given to the league last season were held at the ESPN Wide World Sports Complex in Orlando. But this season, the teams will play on their own fields. The teams will be able to take a limited number of spectators into the hall in line with the Kovid-19 protocols in their states.
Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team in the NBA that reached the first championship in its history in 2019, will play its matches in Tampa, USA, due to the restrictions in the country.
Uncertainty regarding the All-Star match continues
The NBA All-Star Weekend, which was planned to be held at the Indiana Pacers’ field on February 13-15, 2021, was delayed for 3 years due to Kovid-19 concerns. It was decided that the city of Indianapolis will host the event on 17-19 February 2024.
The normal season will be suspended on March 6-11. The decision as to whether the 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend will be held in another city will be announced at a later date.
The regular season, which will continue on 12 March, will be completed on 17 May. The play-in tournament will be held on 19-22 May. The play-offs with 16 teams will begin on May 23, and the 2021 NBA final series will begin on July 9.
Champion Lakers strengthened their squad new NBA season
The salary cap, which reached a record level with the broadcast rights agreement before the 2016-17 season, remained unchanged this year and remained at $ 109.14 million.
Summer 2020 was also active for the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the championship last season with their deep roster, including star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers, who renewed their contracts with roles such as James and Davis as well as Markieff Morris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Quinn Cook, included Montrezl Harrell, all-star pivot Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews and Dennis Schröder, who were named the 6th best man last year. also linked to their colors.
Milwaukee Bucks, who led the regular season last year but was eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, extended the contract of star player Giannis Antetokounmpo for 5 years for $ 228.2 million. The Greek basketball player, who has been selected as the MVP of the regular season for the last 2 years, has signed the highest paid contract in the history of the league.
Like Bucks, the disappointing Los Angeles Clippers, who were eliminated in the conference semifinals, signed a 4-year contract with all-star player Paul George for $ 190 million.
The most striking transfer move of the summer was the swap between all-star playmakers Russell Westbrook and John Wall. The Washington Wizards took Westbrook, the MVP of the regular season in 2017, from John Wall and Houston Rockets in exchange for a first round draft right.
After being elected all-star 5 times in a row, Wall, who has not been on the field for 2 years due to injuries in his left foot Achilles tendon and heel, is a curiosity about his performance at the Rockets.
All-star players DeMarcus Cousins (Rockets), Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons) and Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers), who have suffered serious injuries in recent years, like Wall, also hope to return to the league in a healthy way.
Highlights from last season
Draft 1 number: Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)
Regular season leader: Milwaukee Bucks (56 wins, 17 losses)
Most valuable player of the regular season: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Regular season’s top scoring: James Harden (Houston Rockets) – 34.3 points
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers (beat Miami Heat 4-2)
Most valuable player in the final series: LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Team records in regular season
Most wins: Golden State Warriors (2015-16) – 73
Most defeats: Philadelphia 76ers (1972-73) – 73
Best wins percentage: Golden State Warriors (2015-16) 73-9 (89 percent)
Worst win percentage: Charlotte Bobcats (2011-12) 7-59 (10.6 percent)
Most points scored game: 370 points – Detroit Pistons: 186-Denver Nuggets: 184 (3 times overtime in 1983, also the game with the most points (186) for a team in NBA history)
Least game: 119 points – Milwaukee Hawks: 57-Boston Celtics: 62 (1955)