ANKARA

The NBA players’ union on Thursday agreed to start the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22 with a reduced 72-game schedule.

"The Board of Player Representatives of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has tentatively approved a start date of December 22, 2020 for the 2020-2021 NBA season and a 72-game schedule," the union said in a statement.

"Additional details remain to be negotiated and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season."

Normally, each NBA team plays 82 games in the regular season, which starts in October and ends in April.

The playoffs commence in April and the season comes to a close in June.

Last month, NBA insider Shams Charania said on social media that the NBA was aiming for a 72-game campaign to finish the 2020-21 season before next year's Olympics.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and are now set for next July and August.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA title last month, beating the Miami Heat in the finals.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the 2019-20 NBA season one of the most extraordinary in the game’s history.

The league was paused in March and resumed on July 30 in a secluded complex in Florida, popularly known as the "Orlando bubble," where teams lived and practiced through to the season’s end.