Chinese Basketball Association Postpones Return Until July

The Chinese Basketball Association has delayed its return until at least July but cancelling the season remains an option.

The Chinese Basketball Association decided to postpone its return to action until at least July due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

The CBA shut down in the middle of its scheduled Lunar New Year break. It was scheduled to resume April 15, but China's Administration of Sports issued a ban on large-scale sporting gatherings. The CBA's return would have to be cleared by the government. 

ESPN reports that can not happen until mid-May but the option to cancel the remainder of the season is still on the table.

There are more than a dozen American players who returned to China and underwent a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Some teams will try to extend contracts and put players on retainer but others may send players home as the fate of the league's return is determined. Returning players could later face issues getting back into China since the Foreign Ministry has a ban on incoming travel for non-citizens.

The NBA has been closely monitoring the CBA's decision making before drawing any conclusions about when it may be safe to resume its own respective season. China has been concerned about a coronavirus resurgence despite the slowing of newly reported cases.

The coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread throughout the city of 11 million people and then throughout the mainland country. There are more than 1.8 million confirmed cases of the virus globally across at least 177 countries. At least 120,000 people have died.