Altered NBA schedule may make it impossible for some players to compete at Tokyo Olympics

The NBA Finals may not wrap up until July 22, 2021

The 2020-21 NBA schedule will feature a play-in tournament similar to the one that took place when this past season resumed in the Disney World bubble. Because it is being included again, the NBA Finals could end up running until July 22.

As a result, some NBA players won't be able to compete in the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics next summer.

The 2020 Olympics were originally slated to take place this past summer, but were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Olympics are now scheduled to run from July 23 until August 8, 2021.

There will be qualifying tournaments for the final four spots in the men's Olympic field, which are scheduled to run from June 29 to July 4. There should be several teams still involved in the NBA Finals chase at that point, so those players won't be able to compete in the Olympics.

The NBA schedule was pushed back as a result of the 2019-20 season finishing in October. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to pause from March until July before resuming Disney World bubble.

The 2020-21 season will now begin on Dec. 22 and consist of a 72-game schedule. Following the regular season, the play-in tournament will involve the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds in each conference. Those four teams in each conference will face off in order to determine the final two playoffs spots in each conference.

When the NBA did this last season, the Portland Trail Blazers edged out a series win againt the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.