The NBA announced its 2019-20 will be suspended indefinitely after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus.
The league did not confirm, but center Rudy Gobert is the player infected, according to USA TODAY.
Utah was set to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, but the game was paused right before tipoff and eventually postponed.
Gobert was not at the venue, according to Young, but players were quarantined in the locker room after the announcement.
Here are five things to know about Gobert and the situation at hand:
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Utah Jazz statement
The Jazz released a statement describing the timeline of events. While neither team nor league has yet confirmed it was Gobert, there is now published record of what took place.
This morning a player on the Utah Jazz tested negative for influenza, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. The individual’s symptoms diminished over the course of today, however, in a precautionary measure, and in consultation and cooperation with NBA medical staff and Oklahoma health officials, the decision was made to test for COVID-19.
A preliminary positive result came back right before tip-off of the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City game. Subsequently, the decision was correctly made by the NBA to postpone the game. When it was determined that the individual would be tested, we immediately informed the league office. The health and safety of our players, our organization, those throughout our league, and all those potentially impacted by this situation are paramount in our discussions.
Gobert was in Oklahoma City, but not at the arena
While Gobert was not at the arena, he was in Oklahoma City in case he was cleared to take the court, according to Young.
Gobert was listed as questionable for most of Wednesday before being a late scratch from the game.
Due to miscommunication from Utah head coach Quin Snyder, the Jazz’s official Twitter account even tweeted Gobert was ruled out before saying he was still questionable about 10 minutes later.
Rudy's status has been changed to QUESTIONABLE
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 11, 2020
Young tweeted that the Jazz thought Gobert might be able to play.
The situation as I understand it: Gobert was being tested pregame and the league wanted confirmation he didn’t have the virus before clearing the game to play. That’s why Quin Snyder initially said he was out, then it was changed to questionable. They thought he might play.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 12, 2020
Utah Jazz recent schedule
The Jazz did not clarify when the afflicted player fell ill, just that a test for influenza came back negative Wednesday morning and then a coronavirus test came back positive prior to tipoff.
Symptoms can appear anytime between two to 14 days after exposure to the coronavirus, with the average patient seeing onset at around five days, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Gobert has not missed a game since November.
Since coming back from the All-Star break on Feb. 21, the Jazz have played host to the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
They have traveled to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons on Saturday and Toronto Raptors on Monday.
A joke gone wrong
A seemingly goofy joke may have serious consequences.
With press conferences moved out of the locker rooms and into a separate area, reporters placed microphones and cellphones onto a table in front of Gobert to record audio Monday.
As Gobert got up to exit, he rubbed his hands on the microphones, to some laughter.
Is this the Rudy Gobert microphone incident in question? pic.twitter.com/5pzIuvGMGd
— Eagle-Eyed Social Media User Dan Why-Ner (@DanWeiner) March 12, 2020
When Gobert appeared on the injury report as questionable with an illness, some on Twitter began circulating the video and a tweet describing the scene.
Now, in retrospect, the above video looks more serious.
Who is Gobert on the court?
The Jazz have made the playoffs each of the past three years, and Gobert is a huge reason why.
He is the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
He anchors one of the top defenses in the league. His defensive rating was 102.0 in 2016-17 and then a minuscule 98.3 in 2017-18, best in the league among players who appeared in at least 41 games and played at least 20 minutes.
Last season, he won the award for the second year in a row as the Jazz went 50-32.
He’s not just a defender. Gobert is a solid offensive weapon as well. He has averaged between 13.5 to 15.9 points per game in each of the past four seasons, and his presence in the paint helps open up the floor for the rest of the offense.
Of players who have appeared in 30 games this year and averaged at least 20 minutes, Gobert’s offensive rating of 113.0 is 12th-best in the league and fifth-best among centers.
Gobert is also an elite rebounder. He has averaged double-digit boards in each of the past five seasons and is averaging a career-best 13.7 per game this season.