So a lot has happened over the past week. Some personal, some national, even some universal. I had taken a break from writing due to my semester starting up and not quite having the time to get my thoughts out in a relevant time frame, but I feel now is a good time to return, as I have also returned home from university due to COVID-19. And as my classes hang in the balance the NBA has officially decided to bypass playing in empty arenas and have suspended all games as of Wednesday, March 11 with games that had already started that night being allowed to finish. It’s all become an avalanche of breaking news as stories seem to break by the minute but I will do my best to give a serviceable recap of what happened to our beloved game of basketball.
As we all know, COVID-19 has started running rampant within the United States and because of that, many cities around the association were doing their best to be cautious with players, fans, and other team personnel. The risk of spreading the virus had grown to the point that the Warriors officially announced that their game against the Nets on Thursday, March 12, and all games in the near future, would be played without any fans in the arena. At this point, I think the common opinion amongst fans was unhappiness over not being able to watch in person, but for fans not in the Bay Area, it seemed sort of intriguing to watch a game without any crowd noise, and being able to hear all the player chatter and shoe squeaks. No one was concerned for the future. Plus, it wouldn’t be the first time a professional sporting event would be played in the U.S. without any fans. Back in 2015, the Baltimore Orioles hosted the Chicago White Sox amidst large riots within close radius of the stadium, forcing the MLB to block fans from entering for safety of everyone attending. While the circumstances were serious, it was indeed cool to see something like this.
Unfortunately, within the same day of Golden State’s announcement, mayhem broke loose. Quite literally seconds before tip-off between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, March 11, a Jazz team doctor sprinted from the locker room to the officials of the game and let them know of a positive screening of a player for COVID-19. That player was Rudy Gobert, who unwisely made a mockery of the virus at his latest press conference where he made a noticeable effort to touch every microphone and recorder laid out in front of him before exiting the room. Although just a joke at the time, it didn’t last long as one as it became evident that he has put a lot of people in potential danger over the past couple weeks. It’s already been proven by a user of Twitter that the chain of potential virus spreading through games played within the past two weeks has hit every team in the league, making it possible for any player in the league to have contracted COVID-19.
Eventually, the two teams were sent back to their respective locker rooms and the game was officially cancelled. It wasn’t long after that fan favorite media member Adrian Wojnarowski dropped what perhaps might go down in history as his greatest “Woj Bomb” of all-time when he let the world know of the NBA’s decision to suspend the rest of the season for safety reasons. It has since been reported that any players who might have been in contact with the Utah Jazz over the past 10 days have been asked to self-quarantine as a precaution. Team officials have also been told that they may continue to practice, but again, no games for the foreseeable future.
Even as I write this it still doesn’t feel real. There have been lockouts in the past, most recently in 2011, but never have we seen something stop the NBA mid-season. Unfortunately, there are currently an abundance of questions and very few answers currently present for the future of the NBA. Every year, we have an offseason where there is no basketball for months, but this is different. People want to know what to do with playoffs, what to do with end of season awards, what to do with the draft process. The simple answer for now is that nobody knows. It really pains me to say it but I think the best mindset to take as of now is to assume that this season is done for. No playoffs, no champion, no awards. Just a thwarted season. It’s a depressing thought but at the same time, if games do comeback and we do get the playoffs that we deserve, even without any more regular season games, it will make the satisfaction of basketball returning THAT much better and I can promise that. As of now, us basketball fans need something to fill our time with. Maybe lace the sneakers up again and make your own highlights. Relax and watch some good basketball movies. Go see the new Ben Affleck movie that I may or may not have low expectations for. Pick up a new hobby. Preferably one you don’t have to leave the house for. Whatever it is you do, us fans have to stick together to make this process as easy as possible and above all else, for all that is good in the world. Please. Stay. Sanitary.
-Noah Kokkinos
thesplitcutwrites.water.blog 