Effective immediately, the 2020 NBA season has been suspended until further notice, the league shockingly announced on Wednesday night. This coming after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The league took swift action and didn’t hesitate to pull the plug for the safety of everyone. This was a complete shock to all in the moment and it wasn’t expected at all. The NBA will have a lot of thinking to do over the next couple of days as they will continue to monitor the situation.
The 2020 NBA Season Has Been Suspended
Many sports leagues have issued statements and some have even taken action but the NBA took it a step further. They have announced that the 2020 NBA season has been suspended until further notice. This announcement came moments before the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were about to tip-off on Wednesday night. Gobert was questionable for Wednesday’s game after feeling ill over the past couple of days so as a precaution, the team tested him and found out that he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Fans packed the place at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City and players were warming up when team officials informed on-court personnel that Gobert had tested positive for the virus. That’s when the league was informed and minutes later, they made the announcement that the NBA season has been suspended.
It’s also reported that following the NBA’s decision, the NBA G-League will also suspend play until further notice.
There were many talks among the NBA the past several days about how they would approach the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, they had discussions of playing games without fans and possibly suspension of play. The league was going to make an announcement on Thursday but this popped up out of nowhere on Wednesday night that forced them to make a decision right away. Both Jazz and Thunder players are currently being quarantined in their locker rooms. This hiatus will give the NBA time to determine the next course of action moving forward. We’re all hoping this doesn’t last a long time with the playoffs coming up but I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry at this point.
The Impact
As the number of cases continues to grow for the Coronavirus, sports leagues are taking precautions. The NCAA has announced that both conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament will be played with limited access. In the NHL, teams like the San Jose Sharks and the Columbus Blue Jackets will play home games without fans. The MLB doesn’t want to close operations but they are monitoring this very closely. The impact of this virus not only has hit the sports world but our daily lives. We don’t know what the immediate future holds but all we can do is wait and see what happens next.
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