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NBPA executive director Michele Roberts is a realist. Although she's excited that the 2019-20 NBA season is going to resume at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Roberts admits there’s no way to fully protect players from COVID-19 in Central Florida.
“That’s the only realistic mind-set you can have going into this. A player is going to test positive,” Roberts told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
“It’s not any more of this ‘if’, it’s ‘when’ and what can I do to mitigate against the ‘when.’ When it happens, if I’m not successful, what treatment is available to me, what are my chances of being really, really sick, and how are you detecting the presence of an infection? Honestly, I don’t think this is any different than what any American has to come to grips with.”
The 2019-20 NBA season was suspended in March after Utah Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Other notable players in the NBA contracted the virus as well, including Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and two-time Finals MVP and Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant.
22 NBA teams will be going to Walt Disney World to partake in the “bubble” games. If a player leaves the Walt Disney World bubble, he will have to be quarantined for no less than 10 days and must have two negative coronavirus tests. A similar protocol will take place if a player tests positive for the coronavirus.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks have already clinched a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, nine other NBA teams will vie for the three remaining playoff berths. In the Eastern Conference, the Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards are in the race for two spots. In the West, the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Phoenix Suns will fight for one spot.
