Will shut down NBA if significant COVID-19 spread happens: Commissioner Adam Silver
The efforts for restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in Orlando, Florida on 30 July are in full flow. The league has already handed out a 113-page set of safety protocols to be followed at all costs, much to the chagrin of players. The Orlando Magic have reportedly departed for the bus ride to Disney World Resorts already.
Despite the slew of measures, there's the obvious chance that someone inside the NBA bubble in Orlando could contract COVID-19. There's no denying that the precautions could be reduced to naught with chances of a spread still very much possible. What happens to the NBA season then?
Well, luckily, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was at hand during the Fortune's virtual Brainstorm Health conference to answer some of the questions.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks on the possibility of another league shutdown
Adam Silver firstly admitted that he wasn't sure how many exact positive cases would result in a total shutdown of the NBA season following the resumption.
"It's the right question, and I'm not sure yet."
However, Silver was quick to admit that the NBA will hold no prisoners if there a significant spread and would have to shut shop should that be the situation.
"Certainly, if we had any sort of a significant spread at all within our campus, we would be shut down again. It would be concerning if once [the players] sit through our quarantine period, and then were to test positive, we would know that, in essence, there's a hole in our bubble. That our campus is not working in some way."
Adam Silver expresses confidence in NBA's medical procedures
While the NBA commissioner was quick to admit that a worst-case scenario could be on the cards, he has full faith in the tech available for medical procedures.
"We do have the ability to trace, to try and understand where that positive case came from. We can analyze the virus itself and try to track whether, if there’s more than one case, if it's in essence the same virus, the same genetic variation of the virus that has passed from one player to another."
Only time will tell how the NBA resumption eventually pans out, but just like Adam Silver, fans also have a reason to be optimistic.
Setbacks leading up to NBA resumption
The road to Orlando hasn't exactly been a merry one for the NBA. Multiple players such as Indiana Pacers' Malcolm Brogdon and Brooklyn Nets' Spencer Dinwiddie have tested positive for COVID-19. The latter has even decided to opt out of playing in the season resumption.
There were reports that the likes of Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings have shut down their practice facilities as well.
So the NBA will eventually face a few stumbling blocks heading into the intended 30th July resumption. As fans though, we can only hope that the league sorts everything out in the meantime.