Orlando Magic CEO says NBA willing to play into September to finish season

Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said that the NBA still plans to resume this season and that the league is even open to playing into September in order to salvage the season. Speaking to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force’s Guidelines for Business Reopening Working Group Tuesday morning, Martins assured people that the NBA remains committed to not canceling the season.

“Our league has decided that we’re going to try to get in as much of our season and playoffs as the data will allow us to,” Martins said. “We’ll play as late as Labor Day if we have to and even delay, as was reported this past week, we’ve been having initial discussions about even delaying the start of next season based on trying to get as much as this season in as possible.”

The NBA has been suspended for almost two months since Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, the NBA has been trying to figure out a way to relaunch the season, including pushing next season back in order to allow the rest of the season to play out.

It has been widely assumed that the NBA would avoid playing in September, as that would mean they would risk overlapping with the NFL. While the NBA has struggled with low viewership, the NFL remains the most-watched sport in America by a wide margin. However, given the circumstances, Martins seems to be suggesting that the NBA is willing to play into the NFL season in order to ensure this isn't a lost season.

For now, there is no clear plan for the NBA to continue but Martins and others remain committed to figuring out a solution.

“In the meantime, our task force at the league is studying how do we get back to playing basketball again? And again, following the data, looking at every possible model," Martins said.