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Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The NBA is eyeing a pre-Christmas Day start and a reduced regular-season schedule for the 2020-21 season. League sources told ESPN and The Athletic on Friday that the league proposed multiple changes to next season that include a 72-game regular season, a play-in tournament and the likelihood of no All-Star weekend in Indianapolis.
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According to the outlets, the NBA is targeting Dec. 22 to begin the upcoming season.
The league also is considering a two-week break at the halfway point of the season, according to ESPN. The NBA shared its plans in a conference call with team owners on Friday afternoon, and the league wants to move quickly to finalize negotiations with the National Basketball Players Association to implement the plan.
The reduction in the number of regular-season games -- which would help accommodate a play-in tournament format for the Eastern and Western conferences -- would allow the NBA to finish its season before the Summer Olympics in Japan next year.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA wants to avoid another bubble format, according to reports. Instead, the league continues to discuss travel and game schedules that would keep teams in cities for a longer amount of time to play multiple games, similar to a Major League Baseball series.
The NBA and the NBPA agreed that Oct. 30 would be the deadline to complete ongoing talks on modifications to the collective bargaining agreement for the 2020-21 campaign. That deadline date requires the league or players' union to provide 45 days notice if either side opts to terminate the CBA.
The league recently completed its 2019-20 season in a bubble format on the Walt Disney World Resort campus near Orlando, Fla. A limited number of family members and friends were allowed to attend during the playoffs, but games were mostly held without anyone in attendance.
