NBA G League Reportedly Eyeing 2021 Season at Disney World Bubble

The NBA may be turning to Mickey Mouse once again as it looks to play basketball amid the COVID-19 pandemic, only this time for the G League.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the G League is "focused on" playing a 12-to-15 game 2021 season at the Walt Disney World Resort. The tentative plan is to start the season on Feb. 8 with teams arriving in their home markets on Jan. 19 and arriving at the bubble-like location on Jan. 26.

The playoffs would then run March 5-9.

Eighteen of the league's teams have opted into playing this season, including the Ignite, G League Elite team. However, 11 of the NBA's franchises have chosen not to play their G League affiliates this season.

Those teams are Atlanta (College Park Skyhawks), Boston (Maine Red Claws), Chicago (Windy City Bulls), Dallas (Texas Legends), Detroit (Grand Rapids Drive), Los Angeles Lakers (South Bay Lakers), Miami (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Milwaukee (Wisconsin Herd), Phoenix (Northern Arizona Suns), Sacramento (Stockton Kings) and Washington (Capital City Go-Go; will utilize Erie).

The biggest storyline of the G League season will be how the Ignite roster holds up against professional competition.

The roster will include a number of top 2021 draft prospects, including Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd. Rather than playing college basketball, they took the opportunity to play at a professional level and make a salary before they are eligible to make the jump to the sport's highest level.

This decision comes on the heels of the NBA finishing its 2019-20 campaign inside the Walt Disney World Resort.

It was one of the few success stories in a sports year filled with so much uncertainty, as there were zero positive COVID-19 cases throughout the entire time the league was inside the bubble. That stands in stark contrast to the issues other leagues faced while trying to play seasons inside home markets.

That is what the NBA is attempting to do in 2020-21, and it already had to postpone a game between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.