The 2019-20 NBA season will move back one week next year and begin October 22, per league sources. This means the playoffs will also begin a week later. The change is to prevent opening night from occurring too early moving forward each year. The FIBA World Cup was also a factor.
In 2017 the NBA moved the start of the season up to trey to cut down on back to backs and other unfortunate scheduling quirks. This move was generally applauded and so the league will keep the new updated structure of the schedule by also opting to push the playoffs back by one week next season. This year opening night tipped off on October 16th– a much earlier than many basketball fans are used to. This change prevents that start date from creeping up earlier and earlier and eating into the player’s off-season and time to rest and recover from injuries.
This also helps the players participating in the FIBA World Cup in the 2019 offseason. The World Cup is scheduled to end on September 15th, and so this change to the NBA schedule allows player and extra week of rest and recovery before heading back to constant workouts, training camps, and practices. The players should appreciate the consideration, but basketball fans might be a tad miffed they have to wait an extra week to see NBA basketball.
