NBA players vote to approve Dec. 22 start for 72-game season

The board of player representatives voted to tentatively approve the NBA's proposal for a 72-game 2020-21 season with a Dec. 22 start date, the National Basketball Players Association announced Thursday.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the league's bottom line, however, the NBA and union must still reach an agreement on several amendments to their current collective bargaining agreement.

"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," the NBPA said in a statement.

The NBA and the union plan to discuss the opening of free agency as soon as possible after the Nov. 18 draft with training camps starting on Dec. 1, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Once a formal agreement is reached, the moratorium on trades and other league business will be lifted, according to Wojnarowski.

Also being discussed is the possibility of increasing the salary cap and luxury-tax thresholds by at least 2% annually through the remainder of the current CBA, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania. The CBA is set to expire after the 2023-24 season.