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plans to end season on Oct 12: Report,

LOS ANGELES • The National Basketball Association (NBA) has targeted Oct 12 as the last possible date to complete the season which has been on hold since March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN said on Tuesday.

The report, which was based on unnamed sources, said a timeline shared with teams showed the date as the latest the best-of-seven NBA Finals, typically scheduled to be concluded this month, could finish.

The proposal is set to go to a vote by the league's board of governors today although both the NBA and its players' association are still discussing details on a return-to-play format.

The league was the first North American sports competition to suspend its season due to the Covid-19 crisis after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for the disease.

Last month, the NBA said it was in talks with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the season at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, late next month.

The plan would see games held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is inside the closed-off resort and has hotels and three arenas, allowing the league to limit outside exposure.

The NBA is also exploring how to ensure home-court advantage, which will be seemingly erased with its relocation to Disney World.

According to ESPN, some of the ideas being proposed include the higher-seeded team being awarded the first possession of the second, third and fourth quarters.

That team could also have a dedicated player that could be whistled for seven fouls, on top of an additional coach's challenge. A player usually leaves the game after committing six personal fouls.

Another far-out idea involves the transportation of their actual hardwood home courts to Orlando to try and "preserve the feel of their home playing experience", while play-off teams may get first dibs, depending on seeding, on which Disney hotel they get to stay at.

REUTERS