CDC Announcement Augurs Extended NBA Hiatus

The NBA likely won't return for another eight weeks after the CDC recommends the cancellation of gatherings over 50 people.

As the spread and severity of COVID-19 intensifies in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommended on Sunday that all gatherings of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks.

The announcement comes four days after the NBA suspended the 2019-20 season in response to Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz testing positive for novel coronavirus. Several other players have tested positive since then, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league would go on hiatus for at least 30 days on Thursday. That, obviously, does not align with the CDC’s latest advisory, which would seem to augur that the NBA -- and most organized sports across America -- will stay dark for at least the next 56 days.

“Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing,” the CDC’s website says. “Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities."

“This recommendation is made in attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus.”

In the wake of the announcement, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “a number of NBA owners and executives increasingly believe” that the league’s best-case scenario would involve a resumption of the season in mid- or late-June without fans in attendance. Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews also reported that the G-League is preparing to cancel the rest of its season altogether.

CDC recommendation of no events of 50-plus people for next two months comes as a number of NBA owners and executives increasingly believe a best case scenario is a mid-to-late June return to play -- with no fans. League's scouting for possible arena dates all the way thru August.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2020

Any solution the NBA finds will necessarily and significantly alter the structure of the season and the playoffs, though it’s unclear exactly how the league would work around the prolonged delay. One option would be to play out the rest of the regular season and simply push back the end of the playoffs to August or September. Another is beginning the playoffs as soon as it’s safe to continue playing and condense the playoffs into a smaller window of time. While the league would undoubtedly try to avoid this option, it seems possible that the season could be cancelled entirely.

These are tricky and unprecedented times. However the NBA chooses to proceed, this will have ramifications on both the current season and the 2020-21 campaign. Even if the playoffs begin in exactly eight weeks (a best-case scenario), that will eat into a huge chunk of what would have been the offseason and likely push back the start of the following year. With the Olympics slated for this summer, it seems increasingly unlikely that NBA players will take part in the games -- if they happen at all.

We all have to take responsibility for ourselves and do whatever it takes to #stopthespread. There’s a sense of urgency to flatten the curve and give ourselves and the healthcare system the best chance to get through this pandemic. Share this message and let’s protect each other! pic.twitter.com/T8JfydahCu

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 15, 2020

With COVID-19 spreading across the country, the CDC and most reputable public health officials have also recommended that people take extreme and deliberate precautions as the government and scientists work to combat the spread of coronavirus. Such measures include frequently hand-washing, avoiding crowded areas and close contact with other people, and disinfecting surfaces that could be carrying the virus.

The pandemic is still in its early stages, especially in the United States, and will continue to spread exponentially in the coming days. To best mitigate that spread, it is imperative that we all take the appropriate measures to avoid contracting the coronavirus to prevent its spread to others who might be more vulnerable to its effects. It is far better to overreact in a time like this than to be underprepared or ignore the advice of experts.

“It’s going to get worse,” said Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “For a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States. We just have to accept that if we want to do what’s best for the American public.”

For the NBA, that means putting basketball on hold for at least the next eight weeks -- by which point this situation could look entirely different.