Thursday marks the 1-year anniversary of the night the NBA was suspended on March 11, 2020. It was a night nobody will forget: That the COVID-19 pandemic was a real thing became a reality.
Philadelphia 76ers veteran Danny Green was with the Los Angeles Lakers at the time. They had played the Brooklyn Nets on March 10 at home, and they were off the next day. That night, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and the league halted all operations to keep everybody safe.
“I remember like it was yesterday,” said Green at practice on Wednesday. “I was one of the few to catch it early on. We had just finished playing Brooklyn, and they shut down the league and we already tested. We had to quarantine, get home, and figure out how to work out from there, and when we’re gonna come back so it was one of those huge things in history for us that everybody probably remembers.”
This pandemic is one of those things nobody thought would ever really happen. It was almost like something out of a bad movie where everything got shut down and there were no sports or social events or anything of that nature.
“I think people kind of brushed it under the rug, but people didn’t take it seriously, like it’s not a big deal, obviously you’ve seen the Utah situation,” Green continued. “We didn’t think it would ever shut down the world, especially the league. I don’t think people thought things would shut down in sports, but it happens.”
Unfortunately for the world, this is the situation everybody is dealing with. However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. On the 1-year anniversary in what has been an extremely challenging year, vaccines are available and there is hope everybody can turn a corner.
“We’re here now,” Green added. “We live in a different world. Still living in a weird place, but, hopefully, things get back to normal soon. The vaccine looks like it’s coming, our people are taking it again. It was one of those things that nobody can predict or believe would have ever happened.”
The Sixers were home on March 11, 2020, taking on the Detroit Pistons when the NBA world came to a screeching halt. On Thursday, they will take on the Chicago Bulls on the road for an 8 p.m. EST tipoff time from the United Center.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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