NBA : the resumption in danger ?

While a resumption of the NBA 2019/2020 season has been fixed by commissioner Adam Silver on July 30 in Orlando, Florida, with a few games of regular season before the playoffs, the recent news are endangering the return of American basketball each day a little more. On the twenty-two teams summoned in Florida, a state that is still terribly hit by the pandemic in a country that counts 130 000 casualties, making it the most affected country in the world, a few ones suffered positive cases in their ranks, players or staff, and the most worrying is the fact that cases tend to appear nearly every day.

Twenty-five players have been contaminated so far. In Brooklyn, center DeAndre Jordan will not be able to play, just like point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. Rules are clear and specify that NBA players must be isolated until a doctor tells them they have the authorization to play. Some more cases were found with the Miami Heat, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers, without mentioning the squads that were hit in the beginning, like the Utah Jazz. 

After the reluctance of players to go to Orlando because of their safety but also the fact of being far away from the family, plus the current atmosphere in the United States and the will for some players to get involved in the struggle against discriminations and the fight for social justice, this is another issue the NBA officials will have to deal with: is there a real possibility to play and get some genuine competition if players themselves are unable to play?

For Victor Oladipo, Nigerian roots, the problem was kind of different. The point guard of the Indiana Pacers, who was injured for one year and recently came back to the competition, decided not to resume the season, considering it was too risky for him to play in such a context, having missed many games, still not at his best and thus still vulnerable.

By Guillaume Mahot

Africa Global News Publication