Voluntary workouts finally get underway
Players proceeding with caution as facility reopens
The Washington Wizards reopened their practice facility and began voluntary player workouts on Friday, returning to a semblance of normal for the first time since the NBA shut down more than two months ago.
The Wizards became one of the last teams in the league to return to their practice facility, located in Southeast D.C., as the organization waited on the city to begin Phase 1 of reopening. The District began its reopening at 12:01 a.m. Friday, as the D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser lifted some restrictions. However, contact sports remain banned on city fields.
League rules prohibit players from participating in scrimmages and coming into contact with one another during workouts. Workouts on Friday would have consisted of individual players either getting up shots on the court — with a team staffer wearing a mask and gloves rebounding the ball — or using the weight room with strict physical distancing and hygiene protocols in place.
Late Friday afternoon, Isaac Bonga, Anzejs Pasecniks and Jerome Robinson were spotted entering the facility for voluntary workouts, and underwent a thorough routine before even touching a basketball.
According to a video about safety protocols that was released by the team, players who want to work out are required to use an ear thermometer, provided by the team, at their residence to check and report their temperatures to the athletic trainer before arriving to the practice facility. Once they have pulled into the parking lot, players must wait in their car before getting summoned inside by a trainer. The team recommends that players leave their phone, along with their keys and hat, inside the car before entering the facility.
On Friday, Bonga, who was wearing a mask, waited several feet away from the front door as Pasecniks walked in to get a second temperature check, administered by an athletic trainer. As part of the league’s guidelines for reopened practice facilities, everyone must undergo a temperature check before entering. No one with a temperature above 99.1 degrees will be allowed to proceed further into the facility.
On Friday afternoon, a total of 14 people were seen entering the door that led to the building of the practice facility, however the Wizards have limited the on-court gatherings to one player on each half court, with only one coach or trainer assigned to a player and no overlap.
Although Wizards players were allowed to get back to limited work, their return signaled a new normal. Doors to the gym remained physically open, so that no one would touch the handle. Players had to wear masks and gloves while in the weight room, and don a mask again when entering the restroom. Also, after working up a sweat, players had to leave the facility while still in their workout clothes because laundry will not be done on-site.