NBA commissioner David Stern has cancelled the first two weeks of the season after owners and players failed to reach a new labor deal and end the lockout.

The crisis began on July 1 when owners locked out the players after they failed to come to terms before the expiration of the old collective bargaining agreement.

It took top negotiators 25 long hours on Sunday and Monday to finally conclude that no resolution between owners and players is possible. The deadlock forced David Stern announce the cancellation.

"I'm sorry to report, particularly for the thousands of people that depend on our industry for their livelihood, that the first two weeks of the season have been cancelled. We spent two days here in New York City, I think it's fair to say that we established the positions of the parties with complete certainty of where each stood and we remain really very, very far apart," he said.

Opening night was initially planned for November 1. Now it has been rescheduled for November 14, but no- one is certain the season will begin on that date.

The division of revenue remains such an obstacle that the sides did not even get around to discussing it. The task of ruling on the issue could now be left to the courts.

Each side brought an unfair labor practice charge against the other, with the National Labor Relations Board and the league also filing a federal lawsuit against the union in an attempt to block it from decertifying.

So far from reaching an end, it appears that the NBA lockout is only just gaining momentum.