Kobe Bryant will be back on the court soon. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)

Commissioner David Stern told the media that after 15 hours of negotiations, the two sides reached a tentative understanding. Stern was optimistic that a 66-game season could begin as early as Dec. 25.

The tentative deal still has to be presented to the players to ratify, but players' association executive director Billy Hunter is "confident they will support it."

More details on the agreement can be found below:

View the story "NBA Lockout Ends" on Storify]

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