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NBA on hiatus after Jazz player tests positive
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The National Basketball Association suspended the season on Wednesday after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the new coronavirus, prompting a game to be abandoned just before tip-off.
The test result was reported as Utah’s game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was about to begin. The game was abruptly postponed and the players were effectively quarantined in the locker room area.
The league said the affected player, believed to be French defensive standout Rudy Gobert, was not at the arena and was being treated by health officials in Oklahoma City.
“The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the league said. “The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Jazz issued a statement saying the player had flu-like symptoms but initially tested negative for influenza and a respiratory infection.
The decision was made to test again for COVID-19, for which he tested positive. “A preliminary positive result came back right before tip-off of the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City game,” the Jazz statement said. “The decision was correctly made by the NBA to postpone the game.”
The league and the team have declined to name the player, but Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone told reporters he believed it was Gobert, who was listed first as questionable for the game and then as out with illness.
“Rudy Gobert. You think it is not going to affect us, we are NBA,” said Malone. “One of our players has the coronavirus. Who knows what that means for their team and the other teams that have been with them.”
Gobert angered members of the Jazz media on Monday when he deliberately touched every microphone at a news conference, in what appeared to be a show of bravado about the disease.
Players from teams that Jazz has played in the past 10 days were told to self-quarantine, ESPN reported, citing sources. Those teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors, the report added.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said his team was “stunned.”
“This is a very serious time right now. I think the league moved appropriately and prudently,” he said.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the situation was “crazy.”
“This can’t be true,” he told ESPN as his team played the Nuggets.
“This is not in the realm of possibilities. This seems more like out of a movie than reality.”
A game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings was also called off at the last minute.
The NBA playoffs were scheduled to tip off on April 18 with the finals set to begin on June 4.
Following the NBA’s announcement, the National Hockey League said that it was consulting with medical experts and would have a further update today.
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