The threat of a spread of the novel coronavirus has already made an impact in the NBA and across North American sports, but playing games in empty stadiums is just scratching the surface of the possible responses that league’s and governments are orchestrating in order to combat the spread of the virus.
Only a few hours after the NCAA announced that they would conduct their men’s and women’s tournaments without fans in attendance, The Athletic’s Sam Amick dropped his latest report on how the NBA has responded to the outbreak. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic on Wednesday. According to Amick, although there has not been a league-wide decree, pushing the NBA schedule back by an entire month is on the table.
But sources say the league is still considering more sensible options as well, among them the prospect of pushing its entire calendar back. The NBA has been asking teams to provide its arena schedule through July, which is as clear a sign as any that the notion of putting everything on hold for a while so the authorities can attempt to contain the virus remains in play. If nothing else, it’s a good sign that the focus is moving away from half-measures to full ones – dollars be damned.
If the NBA is asking teams about their arena availability into the summer, they’re clearly considering major changes to help curb the spread of the virus. There is precedent for this in the basketball world. The Chinese Basketball Association suspended play in late January, but they will start to play again on April 1, even calling back American players on Chinese contracts back to China to resume the season.
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