Los Angeles Lakers and NBA fans will have to wait a little while to see teams back in action as the NBA suspended the season on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers magnificent season has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. The world is dealing with Coronavirus, which is spreading quickly across the globe. Now, that virus has infiltrated the NBA.
On Wednesday, the NBA was discussing potentially playing games without fans in attendance but continue playing games. By the end of the night, they had changed course and decided to suspend the season following the games on Wednesday.
NBA To Suspend Season Following Tonight's Games pic.twitter.com/2PTx2fkLlW
— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2020
This all stemmed from the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder game. Minutes before the game was going to tip-off, doctors delayed the game. It was revealed the game was being delayed because a Jazz player, who ended up being Rudy Gobert, was being tested for Coronavirus.
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Gobert was not at the arena, causing some confusion as he was ruled out earlier in the day but that was changed before tip off. Ultimately, he was ruled out as he tested positive for the virus.
As a result, that game was immediately postponed. Minutes later, the NBA announced that they were suspending the season. The Dallas Mavericks were hosting the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks were playing the Atlanta Hawks when the decision to suspend the season was made.
Those teams finished up their games. The game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings was supposed to finish up the night, but that game was ultimately postponed as well.
After it was revealed that one of the referees for the game had worked the last game Gobert played in, both teams were hesitant to play. The Pelicans didn’t even come out of the locker room.
With the season now on hold, teams will have to set up contingency plans. Lakers players are still waiting to hear what the next step is, as they heard about the news on social media.
Lakers players are still waiting on word from the team for the next steps to follow during the NBA suspension, sources tell ESPN. Players learned of the league’s hiatus on Twitter, and then communicated on their group chat, sources said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 12, 2020
Teams can still practice and use their facilities but are encouraged to remain at those facilities. The Lakers have encouraged their employees to work from home.
There is nothing currently planned for the players, whether it be meetings or practice, but players can come in for treatment if they need to.
There is no practice or meeting scheduled tomorrow for the Lakers players, per a team spokesperson. Players are welcome to come in to the practice facility for treatment, however. Lakers team employees have been asked to work from home.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 12, 2020
This is unchartered territory for everyone involved. It is safe to say that this will last at least two weeks, as that is the recommended amount of time that people have been quarantined.
Hopefully, the NBA is able to figure things out and return sooner than later. During trying times, sports are always one thing people can use to escape for a little while. Sadly, that escape won’t be available for the foreseeable future.