Paris -
The Olympic basketball tournament in Tokyo will not be deprived of NBA stars despite the short time between the finals and the 2021 Games, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said on Wednesday.
"Even in the worst-case scenario, the NBA season will end before the opening ceremony of the Games", insisted Secretary General Andreas Zagklis in a press videoconference.
The NBA and the Players Association (NBPA) reached an agreement in mid-November to avoid a scheduling conflict between the American league and the Olympic basketball tournament, which had been moved due to the pandemic.
The regular season has been reduced to 72 games, instead of the usual 82, to allow the NBA finals to finish no later than July 22nd, the day before the opening ceremony of the Games and only four days before the start of the men's Olympic tournament on July 26th.
"If the NBA finals go to game 7, there will only be a few days before the tournament", admitted Andreas Zagklis. "But all the other teams (except the two finalists) will have already finished their season", he added.
"And even in the worst-case scenario (of a game 7), it will have ended before the opening ceremony", he insisted.
Although the two competitions do not collide directly, the time frame between them is extremely short and raises the question of the presence of some players.
In addition, these players will have experienced the shortest break in NBA history, with only 71 days between the end of the 2019-2020 season and the 2020-2021 season, which begins on December 2nd.
Andreas Zagklis dismissed any concerns on Wednesday: "The feedback we get from all players, including those from the NBA, is that the Games are one of the most important moments in their career", said the FIBA Secretary General. (D)