NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently held a press teleconference after the league’s April Board of Governors meeting to talk about when the league might consider re-starting the 2019-20 NBA season currently suspended due to the pandemic.
The short answer is we still don’t have enough data to know.
The good news, however, is that we are starting to get a clearer picture of what a return to action might look like. “I think we’re looking for the number of new infections to come down,” said Silver (via the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy).
Also present was Bob Iger, Disney’s executive chairman, and Dr. David Ho, a highly-regarded infectious disease specialist who joined Silver in advocating a cautious approach.
Silver on the kind of data NBA is awaiting: whether infection rate is coming down, availability of large-scale testing, path to a potential vaccine, availability of anti-virals, state rules. "A lot of data."
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) April 17, 2020
“To steal a line from Bob, when he was asked by several people about particular timelines, he said from his standpoint it’s about the data and not the date,” added the NBA commissioner.
What else needs to happen apart from a declining number of infections?
“We’re looking for the availability of testing on a large scale” said Silver, echoing the recommendations of public health experts on the issue.
“We’re looking at the path that we’re on for potentially a vaccine. We’re looking at antivirals. On top of that we’re playing close attention to what the CDC is telling us on a federal level and what these various state rules are that are in place.”
“There’s a lot of data that all has to be melded together to help make these decisions,” he added, “but that’s part of the uncertainty.”
Uncertainty was the word of the hour, as the league — and the world — are swimming in it as of late, testing capacity still far from what is needed even for frontline workers and treatments still in their earliest stages.
COVID-19 testing likely critical for NBA return, economy writ large https://t.co/3KR9i8CVuS
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 6, 2020
“I think we’re not even at the point where we can say, ‘if only A, B, and C were met, then there’s a clear path.’ I think there’s still too much uncertainty at this point to say precisely how we move forward,” added Silver.
The NBA remains focused on not compounding the existing public health issues facing the country — a laudable position other professional leagues ought to adopt as well if they have not already.
“I’ll add the underlying principle just remains health, safety, and well-being of NBA players and everyone involved,” offered the commissioner.
“We begin with that as paramount and then the decision tree moves forward from there.”
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