The NBA board of governors on Thursday approved a return-to-play plan, paving the way for the league to resume in Florida following a three-month COVID-19 shutdown.
The NBA said that a proposal put to the league’s board that would see 22 teams based at a single location passed comfortably.
“We are in the equivalent of the first inning. We’ve got a long way to go here,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told cable station TNT on Thursday. “We have always been looking for a safe way to resume, knowing we are going to be living with this virus for a while.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Twenty-nine teams voted in favor of the return-to-play plan, with Portland the lone vote against, reports said.
Under the NBA’s proposals, the league would resume on July 31 with 22 teams based at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, to minimize the threat of the coronavirus. Games would be played without spectators.
Playoffs would take place in August, with the NBA Finals set to be completed by Oct. 12. The league has also penciled in a provisional Dec. 1 start date for the 2020-2021 season.
“The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season,” Silver said. “While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts.”
The National Basketball Players Association must sign off on the restart plan for it to take effect.
The association was expected to vote on the plan during a conference call set for yesterday.
Silver said there are still some complex issues to be decided, including how to ensure the safety of some of their older coaches.
He indicated that “certain coaches” might not be on the bench at all.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is 71, while New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is 65.
Silver also referred to the protests that have erupted across the US since the death of an unarmed black man in police custody in Minneapolis last week.
“We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways,” Silver said.
The league plans for teams to start training camps in their home cities on June 30 before traveling to Orlando on July 7.
The league wants to have daily testing and if a player tests positive, he would be isolated and quarantined. The others would carry on playing while still being tested on a daily basis.
This year’s regular season was halted abruptly after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive. Gobert, of France, was given the all-clear about two weeks later.
So far, less than a dozen NBA players have been confirmed as testing positive for the coronavirus, although not all have been identified.
The NBA is the first major professional sports league disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak in North America to confirm a return date.
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