With the NBA’s return now official and preliminary dates set in place, a date for a return to the court for the 2020-21 season has also been set. In the NBA’s press release announcing the return of the season, a date for the start of next season was included with the NBA planning for a Dec. 1 start date.

That date is marginally earlier than the Christmas Day date most assumed the NBA would resume. Relative to LaMelo Ball, though, that date still represents a particularly lengthy gap between official games. As noted by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, if the NBA does return at the start of December, it will be over a year between competitive contests for Ball.

Ball’s season with the Illawarra Hawks was exciting but came to an end abruptly in the final day of November due to a foot injury. That injury ended his season after just 12 games.

As with every prospect in the draft this season, the break in the NBA season has led to a long wait between the end of the NCAA season and the start of the next. With Ball, though, a year-long wait is even longer than most.

Ball isn’t the only one on a lengthy delay, though. James Wiseman had a different reason for an abbreviated season at Memphis. Wiseman’s final game with the Tigers came on Nov. 12, meaning his time off will be over two weeks longer than Ball’s.

It presents another unique circumstance for NBA teams to consider at the top of the draft when deliberating between Ball, Wiseman and other top prospects in the draft.