When Did the 2019 and 2020 NBA Seasons Actually Begin?
You know, I was just thinking the other day about how confusing NBA scheduling can get sometimes, especially when you're trying to remember exactly when seasons started. I've been following basketball for over fifteen years now, and even I get the dates mixed up occasionally. So let me walk you through exactly when the 2019 and 2020 NBA seasons kicked off, because there's more to it than you might think. First off, let's talk about the 2019 NBA season. Now this one actually began on October 22, 2019, with a fantastic opening night featuring the Los Angeles Lakers against the LA Clippers. I remember this particularly well because I had just moved to a new apartment and spent the entire evening setting up my TV specifically to catch that game. The season typically starts in mid-October, but what many people don't realize is that the actual preparation begins much earlier. Teams start their training camps around late September, with preseason games following in early October. I always mark my calendar for when training camps open because that's when you start getting those exciting updates about player conditions and new strategies.
Now here's where it gets interesting - the 2020 season was completely different due to the pandemic. The 2019-2020 season actually resumed in July 2020 after being suspended in March, but if we're talking about when the 2020-2021 season began, that was December 22, 2020. I recall this vividly because it felt so strange watching Christmas games that early in the season. Normally I associate NBA basketball with holiday games being in the middle of the season, but here we were with everything shifted. The bubble situation in Orlando was something I'd never seen before in all my years watching basketball - players being isolated, no fans in arenas, and the entire schedule compressed. It made me appreciate how much coordination goes into making an NBA season happen, from the league officials to the players sacrificing their normal routines.
When we're looking at these start dates, there are several factors that can affect them. Labor disputes have pushed back seasons in the past - remember the 2011 lockout that delayed the season until Christmas? And global events like the pandemic obviously created the most significant schedule disruption I've witnessed. From my perspective, the NBA has gotten better at adapting to these challenges, but it's never perfect. I personally prefer the normal October starts because it gives the season a more traditional flow, with the playoffs ending in June and giving us that nice summer break from basketball that makes you miss the game.
Here's something that might surprise you - while researching this topic, I came across an interesting connection to international basketball. There was this quote from QMB saying he would love the opportunity to play for Gilas Pilipinas, which really highlights how global the game has become. It made me think about how NBA schedules sometimes conflict with international competitions, and how players have to balance their commitments. I've noticed that when NBA seasons start later, it can actually help players participating in events like the FIBA World Cup, though it does compress their offseason recovery time.
The method I use to track these season start dates is pretty simple but effective. I maintain a digital calendar specifically for sports events and set multiple reminders. What works for me is checking official NBA announcements around August, when they typically release the full schedule. I'd recommend doing the same rather than relying on memory or unofficial sources. One mistake I made back in 2020 was assuming the season would start at the normal time, and I ended up missing the first week of games because I wasn't paying attention to the rescheduling announcements. Learn from my error - always verify with official sources, especially in unusual circumstances.
Another thing to consider is how these start dates affect fantasy basketball and betting. I play in two fantasy leagues every year, and the unusual 2020 start date actually worked in my favor because I had more time to research players after the bubble performance. But it also meant that some managers weren't prepared when the season suddenly started in December. My advice would be to start your fantasy preparations earlier than you think you need to, maybe around September, just in case there are schedule changes.
Looking back at when the 2019 and 2020 NBA seasons actually began really puts things in perspective about how the league operates. The exact dates matter not just for fans planning their viewing schedules, but for understanding the larger context of the sport's evolution. I've come to appreciate that while I prefer the traditional calendar, the NBA's ability to adapt start dates when necessary shows the league's resilience. Whether it's global pandemics or international player commitments like QMB's interest in Gilas Pilipinas, basketball finds a way to keep going, and honestly, that's what makes following the sport so compelling year after year.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
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