In many ways, the Oklahoma City Thunder will forever be linked to the night that the United States seemingly realized the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic that has brought life in the United States to a standstill.
On March 11, in the moment before tipping off against the Utah Jazz at Chesapeake Energy Arena, it was learned that Rudy Gobert had tested presumptive positive for COVID-19, and in an instant, everything changed.
In a powerful and inspiring essay written for The Players’ Tribune, Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari gave a first-person account of a night that he says changed basketball forever.
Hailing from Northern Italy, long before March 11, Gallinari had been aware of the decimation that the disease was capable of, as his home country had already become the epicenter of what has since become a worldwide crisis. According to the 11-year veteran, from the moment he took the floor prior to tip-off on the fateful night, he knew something was awry, as the game’s officials were huddled at the scorer’s table with the team’s head athletic trainer.
Eventually being sequestered and temporarily quarantined in the team’s locker room, Gallinari recalled figuring out that the game’s cancelation was due to something related to the coronavirus before the thought seemed to occur to any of his teammates.
Back in the locker room, it seemed like we were waiting forever to find out what was going on. We were all just sitting around trying to predict what was up.
After a minute or so, I spoke up.
“Guys,” I said, “my guess is that this is something related to that virus. The coronavirus.”
As soon as I finished that sentence, a bunch of players started asking me questions. I was in the middle of the locker room just fielding questions from everybody.
Gallinari goes on to give the heartbreaking perspective of an individual whose friends and family have been dealing with the loved ones who have contracted the disease and even some who have died as a result of becoming infected. Although his father and brother are in Denver, his mother is in Northern Italy, which causes the basketball star great concern.
Despite it all, though, Gallinari provides both an informative and inspiring read, believing that together, the NBA, the United States, Italy and the rest of the world will ultimately prevail in the fight.
So to everyone in the U.S., my adopted home, let me just say: Let’s continue being smart and staying home. Keep it up! We are doing the right things now by staying in and taking every precaution, but we all need to keep social distancing so we can beat this together…
I am also someone who loves his country with all his heart, and who knows firsthand the strength and resiliency of the Italian people.
What we are facing at the moment, this coronavirus? It is a formidable opponent for sure. But it is nowhere near as strong as we are.
We. Will. Prevail.
Together.
Having a unique perspective as an NBA player, a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder and an Italian whose country has reported more deaths than any other in the world, Gallinari provides great insight.
More importantly, he provides hope.