The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was scheduled to end on April 15, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, at the United Center in Chicago, and was won by Team LeBron, 157–155. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18, and end with the NBA Finals in June.
On January 26, the season took an abrupt delicate turn when Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who was less than four years into retirement from the league, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. A number of tributes and memorials were issued, and the All-Star MVP Award was renamed in Bryant's honor.
The season was suspended on March 11 as a result of the Utah Jazz–Oklahoma City Thunder game being postponed due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the suspension, teams had played between 63 and 67 games.
On June 4, the NBA board of governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 30, and the National Basketball Players Association approved this plan the next day. Under the plan, 22 teams played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, and 16 teams entered a conventional postseason tournament. All of these games took place in the NBA Bubble, an isolation zone specifically created for NBA operations at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.
On August 26, the season was suspended for a second time by a wildcat strike, to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake and police brutality, during the playoffs. Play resumed three days later on August 29. The Finals ended on October 11, 2020, 355 days after the October 22, 2019, regular season opening day, and 377 days after the first pre-season games on September 30, 2019. In the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat, 4 games to 2, to win their 17th NBA championship. This was the longest season in NBA history.
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Retirement On March 1, 2019, Channing Frye announced his retirement from the NBA. Frye played 13 seasons in the NBA, winning one championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. On April 9, 2019, Dirk Nowitzki announced his retirement from the NBA. Nowitzki played all his 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks franchise, winning one championship and Finals MVP with the Mavericks in 2011, and also led them to a Finals appearance in 2006. On June 10, 2019, Tony Parker announced his retirement from the NBA. He played 18 seasons in the NBA and was a four-time NBA champion and Finals MVP in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs. On June 28, 2019, Darren Collison announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for five franchises during his 10-year NBA career. On August 29, 2019, Zaza Pachulia announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for six franchises during his 16-year career. He won two championships with the Golden State Warriors. On September 13, 2019, Shaun Livingston announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for ten franchises during his 15-year NBA career. He won three championships with the Golden State Warriors. On October 17, 2019, Luol Deng signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Chicago Bulls and officially retired as a Bull after playing 15 seasons. He was a two-time All-Star with the Bulls. On November 4, 2019, José Calderón announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for seven franchises during his 14-year NBA career. On December 28, 2019, Zach Randolph announced his retirement from the NBA, Randolph played for five franchises during his 17-year NBA career. He was a two-time All-Star with the Memphis Grizzlies. On February 16, 2020, Marcin Gortat announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for four franchises during his 12-year NBA career. On April 14, 2020, Trevor Booker announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for five franchises during his eight-year NBA career. On June 25, 2020, Vince Carter announced his retirement from the NBA. Carter played for eight franchises during a record 22-year career in the NBA; he is the only player to play in four different decades and was the last active player to have been drafted and played in the 1990s.
Free agency Free agency negotiations began on June 30, 2019, at 6 p.m. ET, unlike July 1 from previous seasons. Players officially signed after the July moratorium on July 6 at 12 p.m. ET.
Coaching changes + Coaching changes Team 2018–19 season 2019–20 seasonOff–season Cleveland Cavaliers Larry Drew John Beilein Los Angeles Lakers Luke Walton Frank Vogel Memphis Grizzlies J. B. Bickerstaff Taylor Jenkins Phoenix Suns Igor Kokoškov Monty Williams Sacramento Kings Dave Joerger Luke WaltonIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach New York Knicks David Fizdale Mike Miller Cleveland Cavaliers John Beilein J. B. Bickerstaff Brooklyn Nets Kenny Atkinson Jacque Vaughn
Off-season On April 11, 2019, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Larry Drew parted ways after Drew's contract expired after the 2018–19 season. On April 11, 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies fired J. B. Bickerstaff after nearly two seasons. On April 11, 2019, the Sacramento Kings fired Dave Joerger after three seasons. The team missed the playoffs for the thirteenth straight year. On April 12, 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Luke Walton parted ways after three seasons. On April 14, 2019, the Sacramento Kings hired Luke Walton as their new head coach. On April 22, 2019, the Phoenix Suns fired Igor Kokoškov after one season. The team missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year. On May 3, 2019, the Phoenix Suns hired Monty Williams as their new head coach. On May 13, 2019, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired John Beilein as their new head coach. On May 13, 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Frank Vogel as their new head coach. On June 11, 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies hired Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach.
In-season On December 6, 2019, the New York Knicks fired head coach David Fizdale after a 4–18 start to the season and named Mike Miller as interim head coach. On February 19, 2020, the Cleveland Cavaliers named J. B. Bickerstaff the new head coach of the team after John Beilein resigned from the position. On March 7, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets and head coach Kenny Atkinson mutually agreed to part ways. Jacque Vaughn was named interim head coach.
Preseason The preseason began on September 30 and ended on October 18.
International games The Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings played two preseason games at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, India on October 4 and 5, 2019.
The Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets played two preseason games at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan on October 8 and 10, 2019.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets played two preseason games in China, in Shanghai on October 10 and in Shenzhen on October 12.
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks played one preseason game in Canada, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on October 17.
Regular season The 2019–20 schedule was released on August 12, 2019, and the regular season began on October 22, 2019.
On March 11, 2020, the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reformatted regular season, with 8 more games scheduled for 22 qualified teams going to the NBA Bubble in Orlando, was released on June 26. The regular season resumed play within the bubble on July 30.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
By conference
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs/clinched best record c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs/clinched conference y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot * – Division winner pi - Clinched play-in spot
International games The Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks played at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France on January 24, 2020, marking the first NBA regular season game in France.
On June 7, 2019, the NBA announced that the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs would play at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, marking the first time that four NBA teams would play in Mexico City in one regular season. The Mavericks and Pistons played on December 12, 2019, and the Spurs and Suns played on December 14, 2019.
Play-in tournament
Under the plan to restart the season in the NBA Bubble, a possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a de facto 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed must win two in a row.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Playoffs
The 2020 NBA playoffs began on August 17 and ended with the NBA Finals, which began on September 30 and ended on October 11.
Bracket
Death of Kobe Bryant
On January 26, 2020, less than four weeks after commissioner emeritus David Stern died from a brain hemorrhage at age 77 on New Year's Day, recently retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were tragically killed when the Sikorsky S-76B helicopter that they were on board crashed into a hillside in the city of Calabasas, California, around northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, while en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport. Bryant was 41, the accident left behind no survivors and alongside the Bryants were seven others: baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, their 14-year-old daughter Alyssa, Sarah Chester, her 13-year-old daughter Payton, basketball coach Christina Mauser, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
All occupants were killed on impact and on January 28, Bryant's identity was officially confirmed using fingerprints. The following day, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner stated that the official cause of death for him and the eight others on the helicopter was blunt force trauma. A year later on February 9, 2021, the cause of the crash was officially determined to be Zobayan experiencing spatial disorientation due to heavy fog in the Los Angeles area that morning.