An offseason of less than three months for NBA teams is unjust and unethical. After an eventful conclusion of the 2019-2020 NBA season in the bubble in Orlando, last season ended in early October when it usually ends in June. Next season must jump into gear in order to make up for lost time.

“LeBron has been in the Finals 10 years out of his 17 year career. You know there’s training to do that. And to have that quick of a restart, I wouldn’t expect to see him there. I wouldn’t expect to see him probably for the first month of the season. He’ll probably be working out with us. Probably do some playing, but I just don’t expect guys to want to be there or show up willingly,” said Lakers guard Danny Green.

When 16 teams rightfully earn a playoff seed, and only get an estimated 2-3 months off for rest, conflict arises. Due to the delayed start, teams will only participate in 72 games instead of the traditional 82 game schedule. This was the best solution the league could decide, but 10 games will not create much difference. The Los Angeles Lakers were crowned champions of the 2019-2020 NBA season, but to start the 2020-2021 season, the Lakers and Heat will only receive 71 days of rest, the least amount of time between seasons in sports history. This is unfair not only for the teams that made the playoffs, but the 73% of the NBA who took part in the bubble.

Pushing the season into mid to late January would be the best option for the NBA because during the first few weeks of the season, many star players will sit out for extra rest. The fans love when basketball is on TV, but a lack of time for rest and recovery will decrease the quality of games and negatively affect star players. Although they will play 72 games, that is still a workload.