The NBA is starting to line-up its offseason schedule, and while there are some things yet to be announced — where the Draft Combine will be, if and when there will be a Sumer League — it’s all starting to take shape.
The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on July 29. The first round of the Draft will be televised on ABC and ESPN, with the second round on ESPN.
Here is the schedule:
• May 30: Early-entry candidates (anyone but college seniors) must apply for Draft.
• June 21-27: NBA Draft Combine. Location TBD.
• June 22: NBA Draft Lottery. Location TBD.
• July 19: Deadline for early-entry candidates to withdraw from Draft.
• July 29: 2021 NBA Draft
This likely puts the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in early August, as has been rumored around the league. While that will be televised (as will the Draft Combine), it’s unclear if — and if so, how many — fans will be able to attend the event.
From there would come NBA Free agency. Commissioner Adam Silver has said the league’s goal is to open training camps in late September and have the NBA season start mid-October, back on its traditional schedule, with a full 82 games.
There are a lot of details to be filled in, such as the locations for the draft combine and lottery (before the pandemic, both of those events took place in Chicago). But the dates are set and the schedule is lining up.
