American players are returning to China to finish the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season, former NBA guards Jeremy Lin and Lance Stephenson among them.
Per Kevin Wang of ESPN, the CBA is expected to restart in mid-April:
The CBA, which had suspended play in late January, is expected to restart in mid-April. Once the league restarts, competitions are expected to resume in limited capacity, as reported by ESPN's Jonathan Givony, including all 20 teams in one or two cities, a truncated regular-season and playoff schedule, and no fans.
“Safely landed back in Beijing to finish out the CBA season!” former NBA star Jeremy Lin said on social media. “It's been an awesome 2 months camped out in the gym … basketball has never been more meaningful. The world needs basketball now more than ever.”
Both Lin and Stephenson played in the NBA last season, but they were unable to land jobs for the 2019-20 campaign so they took their talents overseas.
The NBA suspended play last Wednesday after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. As of this writing, Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Christian Wood, Kevin Durant and Marcus Smart are the known players which tested positive.
NBA owners would like to resume the season in the summer if it's possible. Only time will tell if the virus dies down and it's safe to play games again in America.
However, the league is doing everything it can to stop the spread of the infectious disease and is working on a feasible solution to continue the campaign despite the hiatus.
Follow Us
Subscribe