[2] The 2021 NBA All-Star Game was played on March 7, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and was won by Team LeBron, 170–150.
[1] Due to COVID-19 cross-border restrictions imposed by the Canadian government, the Toronto Raptors played their 2020–21 home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
[20] The COVID-19 pandemic in North America, which pushed the conclusion of the previous 2019–20 season and playoffs into the fall, had delayed the start date of training camp to November 10, 2020.
The NBA receives 40 percent of its revenue from attendance, and thus delaying the season until it was safer to let more fans into the arenas would ease the financial pain.
[49] National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts suggested that the season might eventually have to begin within a "bubble" environment, similar to the 2020 playoffs.
[50] On October 13, the NBA delayed the targeted start date of the regular season from December 2020 to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18, 2021.
[52] On November 5, 2020, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) tentatively approved a 72-game regular season that began on December 22, 2020.
[134] As the NBA's plans for the 2020–21 season began to take shape, the Toronto Raptors were denied permission to play home games in Toronto as the Canadian federal government ruled that repeated cross-border trips by the Raptors and their opponents would be a major health risk due to the different levels of COVID-19 cases in the United States and Canada.
After looking at several U.S. cities,[138] the Raptors announced on November 20, 2020, that they would play their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida during the 2020–21 season.
[149][189] In late March, Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden announced that the testing requirement would be waived for spectators who are fully vaccinated (second dose received no fewer than 14 days prior to the event).
In regions under the "Substantial" (red) tier, capacity is capped at 20%, and all attendees are required to provide proof of a recent negative test or that they are fully vaccinated.
In the "Moderate" (orange) tier, capacity is capped at 10%, but can be raised to 35% if all attendees are required to provide proof of a recent negative test, or that they are fully vaccinated.
[192][193] On December 26, 2020, it was announced that Fox Sports Networks had acquired rights to simulcast 36 Toronto Raptors games locally in the Tampa Bay area through at least the first half of the season.