National Basketball Association

[catch22]

No, the NBA is not considering a permanent neutral site at all. This is just a pandemic solution. That would cost them millions.

Thanks I misunderstood. Seems fair.

[OKCretro]

There might be some possible tomfoolery in the last few games before playoff seeding is set. With no real advantage of being the home team at a neutral location one could see a team in the 4,5, losing a few games to fall to 6 to avoid playing the bucks in the 2nd round.
Happens in Olympic basketball and the World Cup

[dankrutka]

Looks like 22 teams are playing the next 8 regular seasons games (excluding eliminated teams) then a play-in for the 8-seed if games teams are within 4 games and then playoffs: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...r-season-games

Here we go! OKC has some work to do to maintain their desirable playoff match-up.

[SoonersFan12]

Looks like 22 teams are playing the next 8 regular seasons games (excluding eliminated teams) then a play-in for the 8-seed if games teams are within 4 games and then playoffs: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...r-season-games

Here we go! OKC has some work to do to maintain their desirable playoff match-up.

I can not complain about that! I am ready for NBA basketball to be back! Go Magic!

[Laramie]

If the NBA goes with a plan of playing the next eight Disney/ESPN bound teams on your schedule - capping each team at 8 games - this is what the matchups for those 22 teams COULD look like:

https://twitter.com/ByTimReynolds/st...ams-to-Orlando

OKC: Utah, WAS, MEM, DEN, MIA, DEN, PHX, LAC


NBA Board of Governors approves 22-team restart of 2019-20 season
By Tim Reynolds | The Associated Press - Jun 4, 2020 2:58 PM ET

https://www.nba.com/article/2020/06/...lyinsider.html

[Laramie]

Thunder vs. Jazz - 2:30 p.m.,CT, Saturday, August 1, 2020 in Orlando. All Thunder games on Fox Sports Oklahoma

https://www.nba.com/thunder/video/ok...ampaignId=3060

[chuck5815]

Thunder vs. Jazz - 2:30 p.m.,CT, Saturday, August 1, 2020 in Orlando. All Thunder games on Fox Sports Oklahoma

https://www.nba.com/thunder/video/ok...ampaignId=3060

is this a replay of the Gobert Game?

[Executionist]

Looking forward to them coming back to OKC and what will then be called Paycom Arena.

[Swake]

The Costco Bowl

[Laramie]

Source: NBA, union agree to list of social messages that can be put on jerseys: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...es-put-jerseys

[SoonersFan12]

Source: NBA, union agree to list of social messages that can be put on jerseys: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...es-put-jerseys

I do not agree with it, it is unnecessary

[emtefury]

I do not agree with it, it is unnecessary

Good bye NBA.

[chuck5815]

Good bye NBA.

yeah, i wasn't planning on watching anyway. but now i'm definitely not watching.

these guys seem to have forgotten Michael Jordan's most important lesson.

[PoliSciGuy]

I think the NBA is going to do just fine. A few folks turning away because they're triggered is going to be more than offset by increased jersey purchases and viewership.

[Jersey Boss]

I think the NBA is going to do just fine. A few folks turning away because they're triggered is going to be more than offset by increased jersey purchases and viewership.

No doubt. The NBA is on the right side of history.

[emtefury]

People don’t watch sports for SJW causes and politics. They watch sports for a relief of these things.. It is not going to be just a few folks that are turned away.

[HangryHippo]

People don’t watch sports for SJW causes and politics. They watch sports for a relief of these things.. It is not going to be just a few folks that are turned away.

I’m sure they’ll do fine without your *ahem* emtefury.

[PoliSciGuy]

People don’t watch sports for SJW causes and politics. They watch sports for a relief of these things.. It is not going to be just a few folks that are turned away.

Sports are inherently political. When Kaepernick started all this back in 2016/2017, the NFL did just fine. The NBA will do the same.

[Jersey Boss]

Sports are inherently political. When Kaepernick started all this back in 2016/2017, the NFL did just fine. The NBA will do the same.

No doubt about that. When Kap did the protest against police brutality, pols quickly twisted it to claim it was a protest against the flag and by extension the military.

[Bill Robertson]

Right now there’s a great deal of social aggression/displeasure in our society. If NBA players wearing reasonable social statements on their jerseys defuses even a tiny bit if this during a very unique sprint to the Champions then go for it.

[Ronnie Jackson]

Sports are inherently political. When Kaepernick started all this back in 2016/2017, the NFL did just fine. The NBA will do the same.

Wrong.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theunde...-protests/amp/

[Jersey Boss]

Ratings dropped in 2016. Last year the Super Bowl was lowest rated since 2009.
Your position does not hold up.

The NFL's Ratings Probably Will Continue To Decline
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonatha.../#5ccebf716666

[dankrutka]

Black athletes have a long and consistent history of social justice activism through sports: https://theundefeated.com/features/a...orts-protests/

This is nothing new. Of course, as with all social justice causes, all the opponents will claim they were for the cause 30 years down the line (see how Muhammad Ali was persecuted then and how he's beloved now as just one example)... most people forget how deeply hated (and how radical) Martin Luther King, Jr was by White America because he openly criticized White moderates for their indifference to injustice. A lot of people love their civil rights in the past, but the true measure of any person is what they do in times of crisis.

I thought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's op-ed in May captures this moment well: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...ed-to-the-edge

Black. Lives. Matter. Thunder up!

[SoonersFan12]

They are painting black lives matter on the court and that is more than enough so that is why I thought having social messages on jerseys in unnecessary, that is just my opinion

[dankrutka]

They are painting black lives matter on the court and that is more than enough so that is why I thought having social messages on jerseys in unnecessary, that is just my opinion

A lot of players were considering skipping out on the bubble re-start to dedicate their time and energy to social justice work. This is very personal to so many players who have been recounting their own mistreatment by police in their lives and other failures. Both Sterling Brown and Thabo Sefolosha were victims of police violence in recent years while playing as wealthy men in the NBA. Think about it for a second that Thabo—a model citizen who was super involved in the OKC community—was physically beaten by a police officer recently. I'll live my entire life without a police officer ever threatening me because I'm White. This is very personal to players so it makes a lot of sense to me that they're making personal statements on their jerseys.