One of the more contentious issues in the sports world over the last week has been the fact that the National Basketball Association has not been on the best of terms with the National Basketball Association Players Association. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN on Wednesday, the NBA was considering withholding 25% of players remaining salaries if the regular season is eventually cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Well, the NBA and NBAPA might not have everything resolved of how to pay players the rest of the season if the season is cancelled, but for now players will be paid in full on April 15 according to Sport Business. No matter how one puts a spin on this, the fact that the NBA and NBAPA came to a temporary peace in terms of paying players is a positive thing because many fans are anxiously hoping the sides can agree to have some sort of agreement to properly conclude the season when it is appropriate to do so.
According to Brady Klopfer of SB Nation, the NBA was actually hoping that players would have agreed to a 50% reduction in salary in the middle of the month. However, the NBAPA obviously got their way, and were able to supply a strong enough argument to the NBA to argue that there should be not be a reduction of payment of any kind at this time.
NBA games have not taken place since March 11. Teams have played somewhere between 63 to 67 games in their 82 game regular season schedule. Whether or not the season will finish in its entirety at this time is anyone’s guess. At 53 wins and 12 losses, the Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the NBA. Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry is the highest paid player this season as he earns $40.2 million.
