Adam Silver: NBA will not make decision on the season earlier than May

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said a decision will not be made on the future of the 2019-20 season until May at the earliest.

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview on Monday night with Ernie Johnson of Turner Sports that no decision will be made regarding when the league will resume play until May at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Silver said that the NBA has not made any decisions on how the season would look once they can return to play but added that, in a perfect world, they would like to finish the regular season and then move right into the playoffs.

Silver told Johnson that, based on how rapidly the virus is spreading, there is still much unknown at that this point in time and that everything is on the table when it comes to resuming play.

The fact is now sitting here today, I know less in a way than I did [on March 12]. I think in some ways as I listen to the public health experts and the people that are advising us, the virus is potentially moving faster than maybe we had thought at that point and that, therefore, may peak earlier.

What that means in terms of our ability to come back in late spring or early summer is still unknown to me. Essentially, what I’ve told my folks over the last week is that we should just accept that, at least, for the month of April, we won’t be in a position to make any decision.

While a decision will not be made in April, Silver followed up that point and added there is no guarantee the league will be ready to make a decision in May, either.

Silver said the league has looked at all possible options on the future and is in “listening mode” when it comes to potentially hosting NBA games in empty arenas or in certain cities across the United States.

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