The NBA continues to carry out its bubble plan in Orlando, both on and off the field. While other sports leagues in the United States are looking to locate the way back to a global pandemic, the NBA is proving that a bubble may be the only way. When the groups arrived on the Disney World campus, two players tested positive for COVID-19, but since then the race has been smooth for the league.
After one week of NBA action, the league announced that for the third consecutive week zero players tested positive for COVID-19. Per the league’s release:
Of the 343 players tested for COVID-19 on the NBA campus since test results were last announced on July 29, zero have returned confirmed positive tests.
Even as games have begun, and some players leaving the bubble site to attend to various family matters, none of that has impacted the safety of the league’s plan thus far. Prior to games tipping off on July 30, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the New York Times that he was “cautiously optimistic” regarding the current safety of the bubble and the possibility of the NBA being able to finish out the season. Silver was careful to take a victory lap as players haven’t begun full games at that point. However, with the first week of games now in the books, there appears to be no issues.
The next challenge will be when the NBA allows players to invite family and guests inside the bubble, starting Aug. 30. Per the league’s health and safety protocols that it sent out to teams and players back in June, guests will have to adhere to the following rules before and during their stay in the bubble:
The NBA’s thorough plan to complete the remainder of the 2019-20 season has worked so far, and while it’s still a long journey to crowning a champion in October, the league’s in a far better place than what the MLB is currently dealing with, and what the NFL will have to figure out in the near future.
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