Coronavirus Notes: Next Steps, Barkley, Testing
In addition to recommending that its players self-quarantine through at least March 16, the NBA has told its clubs that each team is “encouraged” to conduct an educational session by Monday for its players and staff to discuss the coronavirus situation, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While those meetings could happen in person, it seems more likely they’ll take place remotely, given the NBA’s call to self-isolate. According to Charania, several teams already conducted meetings along those lines before the season was suspended on Wednesday.
Here are more updates on the ongoing coronavirus situation:
- While the NBA may have its own plans in mind for how and when to resume the season, those plans will be impacted by edicts from local governments. For instance, Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the owners of all of Chicago’s major sports teams – including the Bulls – told Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker they won’t host any home games with fans in attendance through at least May 1. New York mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, suggested on Thursday that venues like Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden could be closed for “months,” as Malika Andrew of ESPN tweets.
- NBA analyst Charles Barkley said on TNT on Thursday night that he hasn’t been feeling well and has self-quarantined, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Barkley was tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting those results, Feigen adds.
- Teams around the NBA want to be able to test their players for the coronavirus, but a limited supply of testing equipment nationwide restricts their ability to do so unless players or staffers are showing symptoms or have definitely come in contact with someone who was affected, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.
- The McDonald’s All American Games – a showcase for high school players – announced on Thursday evening (via Twitter) that its 2020 events have been canceled.
Adam Silver Issues Letter To NBA Fans
NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a letter to NBA fans on Thursday night, addressing the league’s decision to suspend the 2019/20 season due to the coronavirus and confirming that the NBA intends to resume the season when it becomes viable to do so.
“As you know, we have temporarily suspended our season in response to the coronavirus pandemic,” Silver said in the letter. “We made this decision to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, everyone connected to our game and the general public. This hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.
“In the meantime, we will continue to coordinate with infectious disease and public health experts along with government officials to determine safe protocols for resuming our games. As we develop the appropriate course for future NBA games and events, we will keep you informed of any changes as soon as they happen. Tickets already purchased for a postponed game will be honored when the game is rescheduled. If games are not played or played in an empty arena, teams will work with fans on a credit for a future game or a refund.”
Silver went on to recommend visiting the league’s official website for the latest news and cautioned that it will remain a “complicated and rapidly evolving situation.”
Silver’s letter confirms that the NBA expects its hiatus to last at least 30 days, as he announced on TNT earlier in the evening. His suggestion that the league expects to eventually resume the ’19/20 season aligns with comments made by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and other executives earlier today. However, it remains to be seen when that might happen and how exactly the league will adjust its schedule to accommodate the layoff.
Coronavirus Continues To Impact International Play
As the novel coronavirus COVID-19 hits the US, its impact also continues to be felt abroad. The coronavirus first gestated in China, and thus the CBA was the first big league hit with COVID-19. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst took a look at the experiences of select CBA players, including former Magic forward Andrew Nicholson, now with the Loong Lions.
“It’s been frustrating,” Nicholson said, “but no one could have expected this, no one can control it.”
Since our last check-in, several other international leagues have suspended play. Beyond just the EuroLeague, the three other big European basketball competitions (the EuroCup, FIBA Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup) have indefinitely postponed game operations, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Forward Trey Thompkins, a member of one of the top EuroLeague clubs, Real Madrid, recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Real Madrid quarantined its basketball and football teams. Thompkins tweeted about his diagnosis. “I’m feeling great and just waiting for the virus to pass at this point,” he said in part.
Givony also notes that the competitions or entire leagues in Italy, France, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and Greece will be postponed. The Adriatic League — boasting teams from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia — has also paused operations indefinitely, per Givony.
The suspension of play approach is not universal, Givony indicates. Contests in Israel and Turkey will continue as scheduled, but Turkish games will be fan-free and Israeli games will be limited to just housing 100 people in their arenas.
Among the European teams Givony tallies, only the VTB League — which comprises squads from Poland, Estonia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus — will continue with normal attendance along with its normal schedule.
The Belgian EuroMillions Basketball League has suspended all games until April, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia also notes that league competitions in the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia have been suspended today (Twitter link).
NBA Prepares For Layoff Of At Least 30 Days
7:32pm: Silver confirmed that the duration of the league’s postponement “will be most likely at least 30 days,” according to an interview during Inside The NBA on TNT. When asked if it was possible that the NBA regular season would not resume at all, Silver noted, “Of course it’s possible. I just don’t know more at this point.”
4:00pm: Although the NBA has yet make a formal announcement on an initial timetable for its hiatus, team owners are encouraging commissioner Adam Silver to re-evaluate the situation after 30 days, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who says the league is expected to provide an official update soon.
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) also hears that the NBA will shut down for 30 days before the suspension is re-assessed. Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star (Twitter links) was the first to report that preliminary 30-day timeline, stressing that it’s a “minimum” and that the timetable may end up being largely out of the NBA’s control.
A layoff of at least 30 days doesn’t come as a surprise. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban speculated earlier today that it may take at least 60 days for the virus to run its course and for the NBA to consider resuming the 2019/20 season. The Chinese Basketball Association, which suspended its season in late January, is aiming for an early-April return, which would mean a hiatus of over two months.
In the short term, a handful of NBA teams – particularly those who have been in recent contact with affected Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell – are self-isolating in order to minimize risk.
In addition to the teams we discussed in that earlier story, the Nuggets and Sixers are among the clubs whose players are being advised to temporarily self-quarantine, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post and Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), respectively. The 76ers are organizing testing for players and some staffers, while the Nuggets have tests available if needed, according to those reports.
Goodwill reports (via Twitter) that some team owners on today’s conference call suggested that every NBA player should be tested for COVID-19 during the suspension. Given how challenging it has been for the average American with symptoms to get tested for the virus, it’s unclear how realistic it is to expect tests right now for hundreds of NBA players without symptoms.
Vince Carter Discusses Upcoming Retirement
43-year-old Hawks wing Vince Carter chatted about his upcoming retirement after a record-setting 22 NBA seasons, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Kirschner detailed the scene following Carter’s game on Wednesday night, in which Atlanta fell 136-131 to the Knicks in overtime.
The Hawks discovered that the season was going to be at least postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the fourth quarter, as big man John Collins attempted free throws. Carter checked in with just 20 seconds left in overtime and knocked down a three-pointer.
“This was fun. If it ended today, this day and the end of the season with these last 16 games will be talked about for a very long time,” Carter said. “That’s something I’ll always remember. At least I scored my last basket. It’s a weird but cool memory.”
While Carter figures to play down the stretch for the Hawks if and when the season resumes, there’s a chance that Wednesday’s game will be the last time he plays in front of fans. If the coronavirus situation worsens and the NBA is forced to cancel its season, it will be the last time Carter plays at all, which prompted his postgame comments.
“I work so hard to be in shape and play this game to compete against young guys half my age, so I wanted to go out and play the game,” Carter said. “When you say, ‘How old is he again? Oh, he looks like he can still play.’ That’s the feeling — that’s like a championship because each and every night you play against another young guy and they say, ‘Man, I don’t see how you’re doing it. You look like you could play a couple of years.’ That’s like winning a championship in my mind.
“Some people probably don’t see it that way. I think sitting on the end of the bench and not being able to be a part of it — that would get me more than anything. It’s been a great ride.”
For the season, the eight-time All-Star is averaging 5.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG. Carter’s career slash line is a more impressive 16.7 PPG/4.3 RPG/3.1 APG. The 6’6″ University of North Carolina alum has scored 25,728 career points, the 22nd-most in league history.
Last night, in light of the league’s indefinite suspension of game play for the 2019/20 season, Carter posted a tweet expressing gratitude to fans for his final season. “If this is really it, I thank everyone for your love and support for all these years,” Carter said in part.
NBA 2K League To Postpone Season
In response to the rapidly escalation of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s esports affiliate, the NBA 2K League, will postpone the anticipated March 24 start of its season, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
The 2K League and the NBA are coordinating to potentially have the esports games be played remotely, Lowe notes. Last year, all regular-season games were played in Long Island City, New York, at the the NBA 2K League Studio. They were broadcast via a Twitch live stream.
The NBA 2K League had its inaugural season in 2018. Currently, 21 of the 30 NBA teams have 2K clubs. The reigning championship squad is the Timberwolves’ affiliate 2K team, T-Wolves Gaming.
NBA Recommends Players Self-Quarantine Through March 16
Now that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has ground NBA play to an indefinite halt, the NBA has recommended that all players self-quarantine through at least next Monday, March 16, per Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).
The league wants players to remain in their home markets (and actual homes) as long as they are able, and refrain from holding group workouts, meetings, or practices until then.
Team physicians and trainers have been advised to consult with their players regarding their health at least once per day, Stein adds in a supplemental tweet.
The fact that the NBA wants players to remain in their teams’ cities and in close contact with team medical staffs could indicate that the league is optimistic for the resumption of regular season play at some juncture, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer posits (Twitter link).
Bulls Stop All Team Activities
The Bulls have announced that the team will be suspend all team activities for the next few days, but will keep its players in the Chicagoland area, per a team press release (Twitter link).
The NBA has suspended its 2019/20 season indefinitely due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. That may come as some relief to the Bulls, who sport just a 22-43 record. They are presently the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind the 30-35 Magic. Chicago’s best player, shooting guard Zach LaVine, has been hampered by a sore left quad throughout March.
According to the team press release, the Bulls had to be returned home from Orlando last night – where they had been scheduled to play their next game – after the season was postponed. No Bulls are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, according to the team.
Though teams have been cleared to practice with their players during the indefinite season suspension, Chicago medical personnel recommended this more drastic course of action to prioritize social distancing and curtail risk. Team owners apparently want commissioner Adam Silver to reappraise the situation in 30 days.
NCAA Cancels 2020 Basketball Tournaments
The NCAA has officially canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, NCAA president Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors said today in a statement.
A Wednesday announcement had suggested the NCAA planned to move forward with the tournaments without fans in attendance. However, in the 24 hours since Wednesday’s press release was issued, the NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS have all postponed their seasons, and virtually every Division I conference canceled their own tournaments, prompting the NCAA to reconsider its stance.
“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the NCAA said in its statement.
All remaining winter and spring NCAA championships will be canceled as well, according to the press release. The wording in the statement – including “cancel” rather than “postpone” – indicates that the NCAA won’t be leaving the door open to March Madness being pushed back and becoming April Madness or May Madness.
The decision also means that NCAA prospects who intend to become part of the 2020 draft class have played their last college games. It remains unclear how many opportunities NBA teams will get to scout those players this spring, with events like the Nike Hoop Summit, the Portsmouth Invitational, and the Draft Combine all up in the air as well.
Rudy Gobert Apologizes To “People I May Have Endangered”
Rudy Gobert, who became the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, has published an Instagram post confirming the diagnosis.
Within the post, Gobert apologized for his carelessness in potentially endangering those around him. The All-Star Jazz center mockingly touched all the microphones and recorders in front of him following a Monday media session. According to a report from ESPN, Jazz players were also privately saying that Gobert exhibited “a cavalier attitude toward the virus in the locker room, touching teammates and their belongings.”
“I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis,” Gobert wrote. “Mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment. The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse.
“I hope my story serves as a warning and causes everyone to take this seriously,” he continued. “I will do whatever I can to support using my experience as way to educate others and prevent the spread of this virus.”
Sources told Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic that Gobert has been around people who recently traveled to the U.S. from France, but there’s “no clear determination” on how or when he contracted COVID-19. His teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for the virus, as we detailed earlier today.