The suspension of the Tokyo Games, good for the NBA?

The NBA had the shortest hiatus in the history of the major leagues in the United States between seasons. Only 71 days have passed since the Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat at the start of the new 2020-21 season on December 22. It was tough for the players who went to the Walt Disney bubble in Orlando (Florida). Even more so for those who played in the playoffs for the title. Not to mention those in California and Florida. But money rules: starting three days before Christmas allowed to save between 500 and 1,000 million dollars, important figures in a scenario without an audience in the stands, which represents a drop in income for franchises of 40%, about 8,000 million.

The start date was decided… and also the deadline for lowering the curtain. July 22 was the last day there would be the NBA. No more turning of the page with the start of the Tokyo Games set for a day later, on 23. You cannot compete in audiences with the Olympic appointment. Well, rather, televisions do not want to face the biggest sporting event on the planet. And the North American League less, especially, given the drop in spectators during the summer bubble.

The decision to close the championship before Tokyo allows players to go with their teams. And have the United States present: 15 gold medals, the last six in a row. The great giant of world basketball. It is the tournament that most excites American players. The World Cup is something tertiary for them. Some of the internationals would arrive very fair, with almost no rest the further their teams advance in the playoffs, but it is too small a price to pay in a very complex environment due to the pandemic, to juggle dates and games even more if you want that everything goes fairly well.

Tokyo Games suspension

All those preconceptions seem to have been ruined in the blink of an eye if the news from ‘The Times’ is confirmed: The Japanese authorities privately assume that the Games will not be able to be held due to the coronavirus. Again the disease as the alpha and omega of life. These would move to 2032. Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 would be the next Olympics with an eight-year gap between Rio 2016 and the French event. The last times a Games were suspended were for the two World Wars: Berlin 1916 (the First), Helsinki 1940 and London 1944 (the Second).

The bad news, however, can benefit the NBA. Also to the rest of the competitions, suffocated in a calendar full of suspensions derived from the virus. The North American League already has 20 canceled games, 19 of them in the last week and a half, with Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies as the most affected teams: 6 and 5 consecutive games. And there seems to be no end despite increased security measures by the NBA and backed by the players union. These matches are about rescheduling on a calendar that has already seen its number of matches reduced by 72 (10 less than in a normal season) and travel (25% less than usual), but increased its number of matches. backs to backs (two games in consecutive nights) from 12 on average last year to 14 this year. Nor will there be All Star Game.

Options for the NBA

Now without a burned-in date to end the NBA has the possibility to rethink its calendar. Stretch its end until the end of July. Or, even, take August to relieve the pressure that players will be subjected to, who see each day as the dates are compressed. Televisions could also benefit: without Games, extending basketball would not be a bad idea, mainly because it would coincide with the best stretch of the season, the playoffs for the title …

Those are in theory the benefits, although some are in question: last season showed that linking summer and fall did not produce good numbers in audiences. These fell drastically in a few months that overlapped with the holidays (television consumption always falls in the summer period) and with the beginning of the NFL, the great sport in the United States. Further, Players may not be too happy to see their break time shortened for another year and find a situation identical to last year: little time between seasons. Pros and cons. We will see.