Anthony Davis Says 'A Lot of Guys Were Surprised' by NBA's December Start Date

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis says players were caught off guard by the NBA's decision to start next season Dec. 22, just 10 weeks after the team defeated the Miami Heat to win the 2020 championship.

"I was surprised. I think a lot of guys were surprised," Davis told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. "We feel like that's kinda what the league already had in place. It was surprising to us because it's something that was never talked about. Even Adam [Silver] came out and said it would be very unlikely to start on Christmas."

In October, the NBA commissioner said the league needed to start charting a path to get back on its typical schedule, which runs from late October through mid-June, after seeing its television ratings slide during the summer.

"I think we're learning a little bit more about our television audience as we are experimenting, and part of it is fewer people are watching television in the summer, different competition, especially when you get into the fall with the NFL, college football and all that," Silver told reporters.

It was one of several factors in play as the NBA planned for the 2020-21 campaign after finishing last season in a "bubble" at the Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida.

The lack of fan attendance, something Silver said he hopes will change next season, led to a drop in revenue, and the NBA likely didn't want to also sacrifice the lucrative Christmas Day slate of games.

In addition, the teams that failed to qualify for the bubble haven't taken the floor since early March, which further increased the urgency to jump right into a new season.

Star players from the Lakers, Heat and other organizations that made deep playoff runs may take games off early in the season for rest purposes. Davis and LeBron James will be just seven weeks removed from playing 21 grueling playoff games when training camp opens Dec. 1.

Starting a 72-game campaign Dec. 22 with playoffs that run through July 22 should put the NBA on track to resume normal operations for the 2021-22 season.

A return to normal from a financial perspective may take longer as the coronavirus pandemic continues.