NBA Coronavirus Update
After weeks of speculating what the NBA would do about the Coronavirus things finally came to a head last night. The Utah Jazz had come to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder when the worst possible scenario played out. After making a Coronavirus joke by touching all of the microphones in the press room, Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19. This sent the NBA into a frenzy and they were forced to suspend the NBA season.
Whether the suspension is for the rest of the season is still unknown, however, Leaguealerts sources say that the possibility of the season being canceled is growing. All of Utah’s players are being tested and quarantined for 14 days, which is the number of days Covid-19 can remain dormant in a human.
Over the past ten games, Gobert and the Utah Jazz had played against five other teams. These five teams listed below are also being advised to self-quarantined as well.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers on 3/2
- The New York Knicks on 3/4
- The Boston Celtics on 3/6
- The Detroit Pistons on 3/7
- The Toronto Raptors on 3/9
These teams all played the Jazz within the past ten days. The NBA season is going to be suspended for a minimum of two weeks, only if none of the players on any of these teams, Utah, or Oklahoma City test positive aside from Gobert and possibly Emmanual Mudiay.
The Washington Wizards have also been advised to self-quarantine as they played the Jazz withing the past two weeks, however, the Wizards have less to worry about.
The Coronavirus outbreak also caused the NBA G-League to suspend their season as well. The NCAA has not yet suspended March Madness, but the games will be held without any fans and the NCAA could change their mind if Fred Hoiberg, who looked absolutely miserable at the Indiana-Nebraska game, tests positive for the virus as he is currently being quarantined.
Around the world, the Coronavirus has struck. Movie star Tom Hanks and his wife have also contracted Coronavirus which caused the whole world to panics because as we know, once celebrities start getting the virus, it is suddenly 30x more contagious and dangerous.
It is very unlikely that Rudy Gobert, Emmanual Muddiay, and any other NBA players will have serious long-term effects from this. The Coronavirus does not affect those under 65 too harshly so they will be fine.
Keep in mind that Gobert is one of the hundreds of players in the NBA, much less the hundreds of millions in America. Several thousand have it, but it is highly unlikely that you will get the virus. Just keep that in mind. 🙂
The NBA is currently debating what to do about their season and the virus. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the bulk of the NBA teams favor playing the rest of the season without allowing fans to attend NBA games. A few teams are also in favor of keeping the season on a halt to ensure that the virus will not spread, and one team, the New York Knicks, care too much about money to not let fans come to the games, so they want the full shebang.
Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban has been speaking to the public during the whole debacle. Cuban explained that aside from today (Thursday) where all NBA practices are canceled, NBA teams are likely to continue practicing as normal. The NBA obviously does not want to cancel the season as they’d lose a lot of money, so although ever-increasing, the odds of the NBA season being canceled are still quite low for now.
