Sources: NBA approves 22-team format to finish season by 29-1 vote

The NBA board of governors voted 29-1 on Thursday to approve the league's 22-team format to restart the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida, sources told ESPN.

The National Basketball Players Association has been working closely with league officials on the plan, and the NBPA's team player representatives have a conference call set for Friday to approve the proposal, sources told ESPN.

The NBA delivered a calendar of dates to the owners on Thursday beyond the July 31-Oct. 12 season window, including the draft lottery on Aug. 25, the draft on Oct. 15 and free agency beginning Oct. 18, sources said. Next season's training camps could start Nov. 10 with a possible opening night on Dec. 1, sources said.

Some members of the board of governors whose teams were left out of the Orlando restart disagree with the 22-team format but decided to cast "yes" votes. Only the Portland Trail Blazers voted against the proposal, which required three-fourths support from owners.

Under the plan from commissioner Adam Silver and the league's advisory/finance committee, 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams will play eight regular-season games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed and playoffs at the Walt Disney World Resort, sources said.

The top 16 teams in the Eastern and Western conferences will be joined by teams currently within six games of eighth place in the two conferences -- New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix and Washington, sources said.

The play-in tournament will include the No. 8 and No. 9 teams -- if the ninth seed finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth, sources said. In that case, the No. 8 seed enters a double-elimination tournament and the No. 9 seed a single-elimination tournament, sources said.

Teams will begin training in Orlando starting July 9-11, sources said.

Life in the NBA bubble will be governed by a set of safety protocols. While players and coaches will be allowed to golf or eat at outdoor restaurants, they will also need to maintain social distancing, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

The NBA is planning to have uniform, daily testing for the coronavirus within the Disney campus environment, sources told ESPN. ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Company.

If a player tests positive for the virus, the league's intent would be to remove that player from the team to quarantine and treat individually -- and continue to test other team members as they play on, sources said.

Employees at the Disney resort will have to maintain similar protocols. For example, no staff will be allowed into players' rooms, and hallways will be carefully managed to avoid crowding, sources told Shelburne.

The NBA suspended its season on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic.