The CBA was the first major sports …

The CBA was the first major sports league to feel the impact of the COVID-19 virus. And because quarantines escalated through the Lunar New Year in late January, many players and coaches out of town for the holiday have not been able to return. There are now more than 118,000 cases and 4,000 deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization. It was officially declared a pandemic on Wednesday. For the NBA, which is making preparations in the event of a wider spread of the virus in the U.S., what has happened in China is an unsettling look at the fallout from the temporary stoppage of a well-planned and relatively deep-pocketed league. “I haven’t been home this time of year since I was in high school,” said Andrew Nicholson, a Loong Lions forward who was drafted 19th in 2012 by the Orlando Magic and played in the NBA for five years. “It’s been frustrating, but no one could have expected this, no one can control it.”