"We were in the locker room for nine hours…It was just like a scene out of a movie” – Donovan Mitchell reveals stunning details of the first COVID case breakout in the NBA and the chaos that followed
Donovan Mitchell was still with the Utah Jazz when the NBA suspended games in 2020 due to COVID-19. Mitchell’s former teammate, Rudy Gobert, was the first in the league to test positive, which led to the NBA postponing the season.
On “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, Mitchell, who now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, opened up on his harrowing experience at the time.
He said:
“Out of nowhere all these [hazmat] suits just coming right on the floor. It must be a shooter in the building or some crazy. It never dawned on me that it was that until it was. Everybody was like, ‘What’s up with Rudy?’ No one’s saying nothing, it’s just that the game was canceled.
"This is back when we didn’t know nothing, we didn’t know anything. We were in the locker room for nine hours after the game. It was just like a scene out of a movie. We just didn’t know what’s gonna happen. We tried to drink to not be scared."
(Starts at the 1:03 mark)
The game Donovan Mitchell was referring to was the March 11 matchup against the OKC Thunder and Utah was fighting for a higher seed in the West.
Thunder and Jazz players were sent back to the locker room as officials wait for confirmation from the NBA to start the game. https://t.co/xW9sC7OKN7
At the time, the NBA took stringent measures to ensure that players were COVID-19 free. Jazz players and staff were eventually given permission to return to Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell hopes he never experiences a similar situation again. He said that he kept photos of that time to remind him of a momentous and terrifying event in his life and US history.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s relationship was seriously frayed after they tested positive for COVID-19
Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11. Donovan Mitchell suffered the same fate the next day. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported how carelessly the French center handled the COVID-19 situation.
The now infamous scene where Gobert touched the microphones during media interaction backed up the initial reports. Mitchell reportedly fumed at Gobert’s attitude and actions.
This is what Michell said on “Good Morning America" while he was in isolation:
“It took a while for me to kind of cool off. I read what he said and I heard what he said. I’m glad he’s doing okay, I’m glad I’m doing well.”
(Starts at the 3:10 mark)
Before Donovan Mitchell’s appearance on this how, Gobert issued a public apology for his reckless behavior on Instagram.
Gobert said:
“The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse. I hope my story serves as a warning and causes everyone to take this seriously.”
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert moved on from the rift and helped the Utah Jazz get the sixth seed in the West in the Bubble. They lost, however, to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in a closely fought seven-game series.