All the key dates you need to know for the NBA’s return to play

The NBA announced its plan to return to basketball in July during a Board of Governors meeting on Thursday. Now that we have the plan in front of us, we can start to prep for when the NBA regular season will return.

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed everything back, and in order to complete the 22-game tournament the NBA has decided on, some things needed to be pushed back. It shouldn’t alter the actual schedule too much, but things do get pushed back slightly. The finals are set to end no later than October 12th, and then the 2020-21 season will tip off on December 1st.

Let’s take a look at all the key dates you need to know as the NBA returns to play.

2019-20 NBA Season Key Dates During Return

June 15: International players return
June 21: All players report to teams
June 22: COVID-19 testing begins
June 30: Training Camps begin
July 7: Teams travel to Orlando
July 31: Regular season restarts
August 25: NBA Draft Lottery
Oct. 12: Game 7 of NBA Finals (if necessary)
Oct. 15: NBA Draft
Oct. 18: Start of Free Agency
Nov. 10: 2020-21 Training Camp begins
Dec. 1: 2020-21 Regular Season Opener