Much like last season, the 2020-21 NBA campaign will look a lot different.
Not only will teams play just 72 games, but they will play in front of minimal fans at their home arena. Also, the schedule will be manipulated in a way that reduces travel and favors divisional matchups. For more on exactly how the schedule is supposed to look, make sure to check out this post from a couple of weeks ago.
Another big change will be the lack of a true All-Star Weekend. While this has always been the expectation, the league made it official on Wednesday when they announced the postponement of the event in 2021. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the city will now hold All-Star Weekend in 2024.
As expected, NBA postpones 2021 All-Star in Indianapolis. City will get game in 2024.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 25, 2020
As of now, we don’t know if the NBA will plan to hold some form of the game this season in a “bubble” atmosphere, but it’s a bit hard to imagine they do so. After all, the process would be arguably a rather unnecessary expense for an organization already trying to avoid more losses. People are the league have also been asked to have the shortest offseason of their career, so the league might just find it best to give everyone some much-needed time off.
If nothing happens, I saw we just name Coby White an All-Star, Zach LaVine dunk champion, and Lauri Markkanen the winner of the 3-point shootout. Cool? Cool.