NBPA under the impression no fans will be permitted to attend NBA games for entire 2020-21 season, per report

This was a minor detail lost in a major report regarding the potential perils of returning to action this season

On Friday night, Kyrie Irving led a call that included 80 NBA and WNBA players and provided a platform for everyone to voice their concerns about the NBA's plan to return to action amid such health and social unrest, per multiple reports. 

The first to report on the full breadth of concerns addressed on that call was The Athletic's Shams Charania, who outlined what a number of participants -- including Donovan Mitchell, Carmelo Anthony, C.J. McCollum and Dwight Howard -- had to say. 

In the middle of this list of concerns that center on the need to keep the fight for racial equality at the forefront of the conversation, the potential financial hit of not finishing the season and the health/injury risks as it pertains to both COVID-19 and the some four and a half months players will have been off by the time play does potentially resume in late July, Charania threw in this little bit of information:

— The NBPA's leadership stated it is believed no fans will be permitted into games for the entire 2020-21 season.

In a report devoted entirely -- well, almost entirely -- to the conditions surrounding a potential return to action this season, that is a major piece of news about the conditions under which the NBA could return next season. That the effects of COVID-19 will almost certainly continue to impact the way the league operates beyond this season was always a reality, and surely limiting the number of fans permitted into arenas was always going to be an ongoing discussion. 

But to hear that as of now the expectation is no fans for the entire 2020-21 season is a big deal lost in the much bigger deal of the potential perils of returning this season. This is not official, of course. It's merely a report that this is the belief the players are under at the moment. 

A lot can change between now and next season. We could have a vaccine, or at least a treatment that mitigates the most critical symptoms. We could know a lot more about the way the virus spreads. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up back in a lockdown and finally stamp this virus out for good. 

But again, as of now, it appears the players better get used to the idea of playing games inside empty arenas for the entirety of the 2020-21 season, and fans better get used to the idea of watching the games through that same lens. That will certainly impact the league's finances and potentially shave even more money off future salary caps and ultimately player earnings, and that is to say nothing of the some $1.2 billion players could collectively lose out on if the league doesn't return to action this season. 

As with everything else right now, stay tuned.