NBA suspends season over pandemic

The NBA announced that it will suspend the season after Wednesday night’s games until further notice as it deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came shortly after a game between the Utah Jazz and host Oklahoma City Thunder was called off moments before tipoff.

According to the NBA, a player on the Utah Jazz preliminarily tested positive for coronavirus — COVID -19. The NBA stated the affected player was not in the arena at the time.

ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the player in question is Utah centre Rudy Gobert, and that players from the Jazz and Thunder are being quarantined in Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

“The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the league said in a statement.

“The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”

The league held a board of governors conference call on Wednesday with contingency discussions about a response to the health crisis caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league was in contact with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Earlier in the day, Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told a congressional hearing he would recommend the NBA play its games without a crowd because of the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak.