Nets news: How Brooklyn got access to coronavirus tests instantly

The Brooklyn Nets were able to get access to tests for all of their players instantly, despite the national shortage of resources.

Four members of the Brooklyn Nets were revealed to test positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus) on Tuesday, prompting another wave of fear for the immediate future of the NBA after Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell along with Detroit Pistons power forward Christian Wood contracted the pandemic virus.

The issue of how the Nets were tested ahead of thousands of residents in the United States has been raised given the current shortage of tests in the country. This issue has been prevalent as other celebrities and notable figures seemingly cut ahead of a figurative line to be tested for the coronavirus.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, however, the Nets were not tested by public health officials; instead, Brooklyn paid a private enterprise to test the entire team, later resulting in four positive results, including three asymptomatic individuals and one with symptoms of the coronavirus.

Sources: Brooklyn tested the team upon returning from San Francisco and results came back today. Nets paid out of pocket to a private company to conduct tests. One player awoke with some aches today; rest have experienced no symptoms.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 17, 2020

Prior to the NBA's immediate operations suspension and current hiatus effective on March 12, the Nets last played the Los Angeles Lakers on the west coast on Tuesday, March 10. If there is suspicion into contact with the Jazz or Pistons related to the spread of COVID-19 with the Nets, Brooklyn last played Utah in mid-January and Detroit in late-January. The timeline of the proliferation and outbreak of the global pandemic from east Asia across the world is not clear, though. It's very possible the four Nets who tested positive came in contact with individuals with the coronavirus outside of the Jazz and Pistons organizations too.

The NBA is seemingly pushing back the season farther and farther as public health caution and the short supply of tests prevent a clear path for players, coaches, officials, and other essential personnel from organizing games.