Comparing the Start Dates of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Seasons: Key Differences

I remember sitting in my home office in late 2019, scrolling through the NBA schedule while keeping one eye on preseason highlights. The 2019-2020 season had tipped off on October 22, 2019, with a fairly standard timeline that felt comfortably familiar to basketball enthusiasts like myself. Little did we know that the following season would completely rewrite the NBA's calendar playbook in ways nobody could have anticipated.

The traditional October start for the 2019 season represented business as usual - 82 games spread across the familiar rhythm of fall, winter, and spring, culminating in the June Finals. I recall thinking how perfectly this aligned with the global basketball ecosystem, allowing players like those from Gilas Pilipinas to participate in international competitions during the summer break. In fact, I distinctly remember reading about QMB expressing his enthusiasm for playing for the Philippine national team, saying he "would love the opportunity to play for Gilas Pilipinas." This kind of international participation was precisely what the traditional schedule facilitated beautifully.

Then came 2020, and everything changed. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the NBA into its famous bubble at Walt Disney World, creating what I consider the most fascinating scheduling experiment in modern sports history. The 2020-21 season didn't begin until December 22, 2020 - a full two months later than its predecessor. This compressed 72-game schedule created ripple effects across the basketball world that we're still feeling today.

From my perspective as someone who's followed NBA scheduling for over a decade, the differences went far beyond just dates. The 2019 season's October start meant players enjoyed a relatively normal offseason of about 110 days. The 2020 season's December commencement gave reigning champions the Lakers just 71 days off - the shortest turnaround in league history. I spoke with several team staff members who described the physical toll this took on players, particularly those who'd gone deep into the Orlando bubble playoffs.

What fascinated me most was how these scheduling differences affected international basketball. The traditional 2019 calendar created clean windows for FIBA competitions, allowing stars to represent their countries without NBA conflicts. The disrupted 2020 schedule created overlapping commitments that made it nearly impossible for players to honor both club and country duties simultaneously. I can't help but think about QMB's expressed desire to play for Gilas Pilipinas - the compressed timeline likely made such international appearances significantly more challenging.

The television scheduling implications were equally dramatic. The 2019 season followed the conventional pattern of holiday marquee games and a steady buildup to playoff intensity in April. The 2020 season, starting in December, immediately jumped into Christmas Day games that typically represent the season's first major milestone. This created what I call "narrative compression" - the entire story of the season had to accelerate to fit the revised calendar.

Attendance and revenue patterns diverged sharply between the two seasons. The 2019 season welcomed fans normally until March 2020, when the pandemic suspension hit. The 2020 season began with empty arenas in most markets, gradually phasing in limited capacity around the 25% mark by early 2021. The financial impact was staggering - league sources indicated revenue shortfalls exceeding $1.5 billion for the disrupted season.

From a pure basketball perspective, the training camp and preseason differences were equally striking. Teams preparing for the 2019 season enjoyed a full month of preseason activities, while the 2020 campaign compressed this to just about two weeks. I remember talking to coaches who described the challenge of installing offensive systems in half the usual time, leading to what many observers noted was sloppy early-season basketball.

The playoff implications created what I believe were the most significant competitive consequences. The 2019 season followed the standard format with typical rest patterns between series. The 2020 season's late start created a compressed playoff schedule that arguably contributed to the injury crisis that marred the 2021 postseason. The condensed timeline meant less recovery time between games, particularly for teams that went deep in both the bubble and the following season.

Looking back, I'm convinced the 2020 scheduling experiment, while necessary, demonstrated why the traditional calendar works better for player health and competitive balance. The December start created a domino effect that impacted everything from summer league schedules to draft preparation to free agency timing. It's worth noting that the league has since returned to something closer to the 2019 model, suggesting that the traditional rhythm better serves the sport's ecosystem.

The contrast between these two seasons reveals how deeply interconnected the NBA calendar is with global basketball, player development, and business operations. While the 2020 season provided fascinating insights into the league's adaptability, the 2019 model better accommodates the broader basketball world - including opportunities for players like QMB to fulfill their national team aspirations. Sometimes, the traditional way of doing things becomes traditional for good reason, and the NBA's scheduling conventions appear to be one such case.