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For over two dozen players, participating in the NBA season restart this month at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, may not be a completely foreign place.
In a typical year, the Wide World of Sports Complex hosts several athletic events, including the Orlando Invitational over Thanksgiving. The early-season NCAA tournament, which features 12 teams, has been played on the Disney campus for the past 14 years.
As noted by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, 26 players on the 22 teams set to restart the season have previously played in the Orlando Invitational at Disney during their collegiate careers.
Some of those players include:
- Heat teammates Jimmy Butler (Marquette, 2009) and Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga, 2012)
- Portland’s Zach Collins (Gonzaga, 2016)
- Washington’s Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga, 2016)
- Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton (Texas A&M, 2010)
- Indiana’s Edmond Sumner (Xavier, 2015)
- Phoenix’s Kelly Oubre Jr. (Kansas, 2014)
- Boston’s Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State, 2013)
Of course, the NBA will restart the 2019-20 season July 30 at Disney World as the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz are scheduled as the first game back with a battle of Los Angeles between the Lakers and Clipperd to follow.
Though 26 players have previously played at Disney, the circumstances this time around will be much different as teams are set to arrive this week to begin quarantining on Disney property.
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