Sports

Timeline: A Year That Changed the N.B.A.


In any other year, N.B.A. teams would be gearing up for a new season right now. A champion would have been crowned in June. Free agents would have signed big deals in July. Everyone would have gone on vacation in August.

But this year, the N.B.A. is still trying to complete its old season, the one that began nearly a year ago. It’s been a long 12 months of basketball — and so much more.

Major trades and a chaotic free agency period shifted the N.B.A.’s hierarchy.

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Jimmy Butler joined the Miami Heat from Philadelphia in a deal that was overshadowed at the time but has proved critical during the postseason.

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Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, mocked for rarely shooting from outside, hit the first 3-pointer of his career.

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David Stern died on New Year’s Day at age 77.

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The N.B.A. took the unusual step of postponing a game between the Lakers and Clippers because the players were grieving.

The night before Bryant died, he congratulated LeBron James for passing him for third on the N.B.A.’s career scoring list.

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As Bryant’s family prepared for his memorial, and the N.B.A. made plans to honor him during All-Star Weekend, the season carried on to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

In Memphis, that meant focusing on Andre Iguodala. The Warriors veteran had been traded to the Grizzlies in the off-season but had not reported while the team sought to trade him.

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Some players, such as Milwaukee’s George Hill, worried that resuming the season would distract from the raging social justice movement.

The league and players agreed to incorporate social justice symbols into the restart, and team owners pledged millions of dollars for related causes.

Kneeling during the national anthem became commonplace, though not universal, at N.B.A. games.

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