New York (AFP)

The NBA plans to start its 2020/2021 season at the end of December, with 72 regular season games, and to finish it in time to allow players to participate in the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, several US media said on Friday.

ESPN and The Athletic, citing anonymous sources, assure that the North American Basketball League (NBA) clarified this project during a conference with franchise owners on Friday.

This has yet to be accepted by the players' association (NBPA).

According to The Athletic, the NBA is planning a start to the season on December 22, three days before Christmas Day traditionally rich in gala meetings, and a regular season reduced to 72 games, compared to 82 usually.

This start of the season in December would ensure greater income than a launch in January, and allow NBA players to participate with their selections at the Tokyo Games, postponed to summer 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic .

The United States will aim for a fourth consecutive Olympic title in Japan.

The availability of NBA players for the Tokyo Olympics has already been the subject of questions, in particular from USA Basketball, the American federation.

ESPN previously reported on a start to the season during the "Martin Luther King Day" vacation (Jan. 18, 2021), on a date that raised hopes of seeing spectators return to the stands.

The 2019/2020 NBA season ended in a "bubble" at Disneyland, Orlando (Florida).

No player has tested positive during the more than two months spent on site by 22 of the 30 franchises.

This time around, matches played in franchise halls rather than in a bubble would be favored, and the NBA is considering making the same teams compete several times in a row to reduce journeys.

In addition to the question of the format of the 2020/2021 season, the NBA and the NBPA are also in discussions on the consequences of a potential financial crisis and on the establishment of a new salary cap.

According to ESPN, October 30 has been set as the deadline for these talks to come to fruition, eight weeks before Christmas.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said at least eight weeks will pass between a deal and the start of the next season.

© 2020 AFP