NBA Announces 2020-21 Season Schedule Details, Confirms Play-in Tournament

The NBA has officially announced its format for the 2020-21 season, which will begin on Dec. 22 and feature 72 games for each team: 

The league will announce the first half of the schedule for each team during training camp in December, while the second half won't be announced until later in the year.

The schedule features a play-in tournament between the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds to determine the final two playoff spots for each conference.

There was a limited play-in format during this past season within the bubble near Orlando, Florida, although the teams had to be within four games to be eligible. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in one play-in game to clinch the No. 9 seed in the West, while there was no series in the East.

This season will feature a more expansive tournament from May 18-21 with even the No. 10 seed having a chance to secure a spot with two consecutive wins.

The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds at the end of the regular season will play first with one win clinching a postseason appearance, while the loser of that game will then face the winner of the matchup between No. 9 and No. 10.

This would have given the Phoenix Suns a shot at the playoffs after they had eight straight wins in the seeding games, although the Dallas Mavericks would have had to play their way in despite a 43-32 mark in the regular season.

The Washington Wizards also would have had a postseason opportunity despite a 25-47 record in 2019-20.

The new schedule also features an All-Star Break from March 5-10 despite no actual game, which was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.