13 West & 9 East Teams Involved in the Proposed Resumption of NBA: Reports

The NBA seems to be getting closer to resuming its season. Reports suggest that the league is planning to return around July 31 in Orlando with 22 teams.

Talking on SportsCenter.com, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that the league office is planning to share the 22-team proposal with the league owners on Thursday.

“The league office has a proposal now that it is sharing with team owners. There is a vote set for tomorrow afternoon with the league board of governors,” he said on Wednesday.

“They will approve a 22-team return to play in Orlando beginning on July 31. 13 teams from the Western Conference and nine from the East.”

This could mean stars like Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson would be a part of the league, along with those in the top eight in either conference. Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans were ninth and tenth respectively in the Western Conference prior to the league’s suspension. Also, San Antonio Spurs’ possible inclusion could mean that they would get an opportunity to keep their playoff streak alive.

The proposed format would also include Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns from the Western Conference and Washington Wizards from the Eastern Conference among the 22 teams resuming the season.

Wojnarowski explained that the league considered teams within a distance of six games from the eight seed. Thus, there are 13 teams from the Western Conference, and only nine from the Eastern.

Teams to play eight regular season games as per the proposed format for the return of NBA

Wojnarowski further talked about the proposed formats.

“Every team is going to play eight regular season games in Orlando,” he said. “If the ninth seed is within four games of the eighth seed, they’ll play a single-elimination format for the ninth seed and a double-elimination format for the eighth seed to give them more advantage to hold on to that lead.”

The exact timeline is yet unknown. However, recent reports suggest that the NBA could go on till October 12 before the season ends.