NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his team should get a ton of credit for ensuring that the pandemic-hit 2019-20 campaign sees its conclusion. The commissioner is set to make his first visit to the campus, and he recently opened up about how he currently feels about the situation.
Silver first expressed his appreciation for the players:
“It requires significant sacrifice from our players,” Silver said in a phone interview, via Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Silver then acknowledged that there's a long way to go here for this experiment to be successful:
“From my standpoint, it’s going very well, and I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re on the right track. But I also recognize what we’re doing has not been done before, and the competition is just beginning. The real test will come when players are commingling, playing basketball without masks and without physical distancing.”
The season is set to officially kick off again on Thursday, and with tip off just a few days away, Silver will be making his first trip to the bubble. He will not be getting any VIP treatment, though, and he will also need to go through the exact same process every person undergoes before being allowed entry to the bubble:
Silver also tells @NYTSports he is scheduled to make his first appearance on the NBA campus Thursday for Opening Night 2.0
He must register two negative coronavirus tests before departure and another negative upon arrival in Florida to attend Pelicans/Jazz and Lakers/Clippers
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 27, 2020
As Silver explained above, things have been going great thus far — all things considered. However, now is not the time for complacency, especially considering how threatening the coronavirus is and how it's already affecting the return of Major League Baseball. It's truly commendable that the NBA has managed to get to this point, but it must remain steadfast in ensuring that the proper protocols are followed to a T so as to avoid any issues.
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