The NBA hasn’t even restarted the 2019-20 season due to Covid-19. That plan is taking place right now and the season is expected to get underway at the end of July. As for next season, well, that’s a different animal altogether. The League is mulling over a few scenarios, one which includes a start date in March, per documents obtained by the Morning Consult.
I’ll start by saying I’m not familiar with this source and that this should be viewed as a report/rumor at its purest form. That isn’t to discredit anything, but we don’t actually get to see any documents outlining the NBA’s plans for next season. Still, it’s interesting to see some potential scenarios. The NBA is thinking a March start gives the country enough time to maybe get a vaccine in place, which is beneficial for the prospects of an 82-game season.
A March start time would conflict with the Olympics next summer, but if coronavirus doesn’t go away, we may not even get the Olympics anyway. The report states that this March scenario is the only one that starts late. The other three would have start dates in December that have the season run through July, which is as close to normal as we might get. It also seems like the League would have contingency plans set in place if things go South again like they did this season.