NBA boss Adam Silver, “serene” regarding the resumption of the championship on July 30, nevertheless conceded that if the coronavirus, in spectacular increase in Florida, were to spread in the bubble of Disney World, the season could be stopped .
“If we were to face a significant spread of the coronavirus, it could ultimately lead us to stop” the season, said Silver during a conference call with media.
If this scenario is not excluded, the commissioner of the league added that “the limit threshold leading to such a decision has not been determined with precision”.
Earlier on Friday, the NBA and the players’ union (NBPA) announced that they had definitively approved the season’s recovery plan, particularly in terms of safety and health protocols.
If he wants to be “serene” about this prospect, Silver acknowledged that the level of worry had increased in the NBA in recent days in view of the spectacular resurgence of positive cases for coronavirus in Florida and throughout the country .
On Thursday, 8,942 people tested positive in the “Sunshine State”, crushing the record count of 5,508 on Tuesday, bringing the total to more than 123,000. If the contaminations are concentrated in the south of the state, the Orange County where Disney World is located has seen 10% of the tests return positive in the last ten days. This is more than double the rates recorded between June 6 and June 15.
“No option is without risk at the moment. My ultimate conclusion is that we cannot overcome the virus. This is the situation in which the whole country will still be for some time, “said Silver, justifying the choice to resume if an isolated site, which” although it is not entirely waterproof, will protect us from cases that surrounding us”.
“We think it will be safer on our campus than outside,” he said, adding that tests will be done daily and that additional screening will also be provided for Disney World staff from outside.
The championship, the schedule of which will be announced later this Friday, will resume more than four months after its interruption on March 11, following the announcement of the positive coronavirus test by French Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz).
22 teams are concerned, which will first play eight regular season games each, before possible play-offs for 8th place in each conference, the last qualifier for the play-offs. For a final crowning on October 13 at the latest.
For matches played behind closed doors, Silver explained that to provide a better experience for viewers, the broadcasts will increase the camera angles and improve the soundscape.
If basketball resumes its rights, the league and the players also agreed to take advantage of this media window to take action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice.
Many players, around 80, have expressed their opposition in recent weeks to replay, believing that the time was for engagement and protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
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