NBA commish: ‘No plans right now to pause the season’
The NBA has no plans to follow the NHL in pausing its season to address rampant COVID-19 outbreaks, says commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver appeared on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
“No plans right now to pause the season,” Silver said. “We’ve of course looked at all the options, but frankly we’re having trouble coming up with what the logic would be behind pausing right now.
“This virus will not be eradicated, and we’re going to have to learn to live with it.”
Silver said the league isn’t there yet, but might reach a point where only symptomatic players are tested. He said the NBA’s players are about 65 percent boosted, and it’s possible they will shorten the window in which players are out due to a positive test. He said about 90 percent of the positive tests are showing the Omicron variant.
Earlier this week, amid game cancellations and positive tests this month for over 100 players — including stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Trae Young — the NBA made provisions to allow teams to sign extra players.
Over the weekend, the NFL announced new protocols to test fewer players who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, but it had little impact — on Monday, 47 players were added into COVID-19 protocols.
We are in relatively uncharted waters here with the sheer volume of positive tests — across sports, as well as society — and the next few months of cold weather above the Mason Dixon line presumably will not help matters.
At least for the time being, though, Silver is sending a clear message that the NBA intends to stay the course and avoid interrupting the season.