Suns’ Williams explains vital gadgets for bubble
MagicBand. Smart alarm.
Like everyone else, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams is wearing these items while inside the Orlando bubble for the NBA restart at Walt Disney World Resort.
“I got so much stuff on me, man,” a smiling Williams said during Friday evening’s media call after practice.
So let’s take a look at Williams’ breakdown of each item and then the official explanation of each one provided in the NBA’s 113-page Health and Safety Protocols.
MagicBand
ring. Proximity
Williams: “It helps me get into my hotel room. Then they have a deal at every entrance that you have to tap it on and wait for a green light and it allows you to go into the hotel. Everywhere we go, we have to check in and check out.”
NBA: To wear at all times (other than when players are participating in individual or team workouts) a Disney MagicBand for access control functions including as a hotel room key, for security checkpoints, and to check-in for coronavirus testing and other medical screening. All persons will be required to comply with any health checkpoint request to scan their MagicBand at any time.
Oura smart ring
Williams: “It’s probably not working at all because I don’t have much of my brain for it to monitor (joking). So I know it’s not working on this. It’s probably checking my heart and oxygen levels and activity, but this thing is supposed to track a lot of our health points.”
NBA: All players, essential team staff, league staff, and Player Guests residing at the campus will be offered a wearable device (a ring worn on the finger) to wear and collect additional information that may be relevant to the assessment of COVID-19 (e.g., heart rate, heart rate variability, etc.); use of this wearable will be optional, and information will only be shared with the individual using the device, the NBA (including heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature deviation, respiration rate, illness probability score, and any other raw data outputs agreed upon by the NBA and NBPA), and (with respect to players) NBPA for the purpose of COVID-19-related health monitoring in connection with the resumption of the 2019-20 season.
Proximity alarm
Williams (worn on credentials): “It’s suppose to monitor your distance between people when you’re at the hotel.”
NBA: A small device that will function as a “proximity alarm” that will set off an audio alert when the person is within six feet of another person for more than five seconds. (Proximity alarms can detect permissible pairs of people, such as teammates or a physician and patient, who are allowed to be within six feet of each other without setting off an alarm.).
“The NBA has gone above and beyond to give us every chance to be successful,” Williams said. “When you look at the rings, the bands and the other apparatuses that we have on, along with (COVID-19) testing, we have everything we need to be successful. I applaud the league. I came into it with a bit of skepticism. Trying to figure out how are they going to keep us safe and all of that and then when you get here and you see all this stuff, it’s actually pretty impressive.”