Report: Players expected to agree on Dec. 22 start date for NBA season

Player representatives from each NBA team are expected to approve the proposed Dec. 22 start date for the 2020-21 season, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.

A formal vote within the National Basketball Players Association is reportedly scheduled to take place late Thursday.

Some unnamed stars were among a group of players that reportedly pushed back on the Dec. 22 start date in favor of beginning the new season on Jan. 18 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - instead. However, following recent meetings with the union and its executive director, Michele Roberts, it was reported Tuesday that some players felt it was inevitable that they'd approve the December date.

By starting the new campaign days before Christmas, the league would be targeting a 72-game regular season that would end sometime in mid-May.

Both sides are reportedly still at odds over a new escrow figure. The league and union are apparently seeking figures of 25% and 15%, respectively, over the next three years. However, in calls with teams this week, the NBPA referenced escrow discussions with the league that center around withholding approximately 18% of player salaries over the next two years, sources told Wojnarowski and Lowe.