The NBA players and owners have reached a tentative deal to end the league's monthslong lockout, CNN reports. The plan is to begin play by Christmas Day, but first, both sides must endorse the deal, leading to an official collective bargaining agreement and its eventual ratification.

Both sides say they expect a formal resolution within the week. In other words, there's good reason to believe that the lockout is coming to an end, even though the players and owners aren't officially out of the woods of negotiations just yet.

For some fans, that news will be enough. For those who want to know all the nuances of the deal, the Washington Post's Michael Lee explains the details, from the 50-50 split of basketball-related income to midlevel exceptions, luxury-tax penalties and annual salary increases.

The league took to Twitter on Sunday to share the details of how the schedule will play out for the shortened 2011-2012 season.

Read more at CNN and the Washington Post. 

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.