NBA players face a strict COVID test protocol next season
NBA players who test positive for the coronavirus this season may have to miss nearly two weeks in some instances before being allowed to return to the court, the league told its teams.
T hat revelation was one of many in a 63,000word document that explained some of the heath and safety protocols for the looming season. Preseason games begin Dec. 11 and regular season contests start Dec. 22.
The document still needs to be ratified by the league and the National Basketball Players Association, but it at least provides some sort of blueprint for the start of training camps in the coming days. All players who will be part of training camp need to begin a testing program by Monday — many were expected to start it Saturday — and teams can begin holding mandated group workouts starting Dec. 6, the league said. Individual workouts can begin Tuesday, if players have three consecutive negative tests.
Players, coaches and other key staff are expected to be tested daily in most cases.
The league, in a separate memo, also told teams that even with the detailed prevention and mitigation strategies “it is likely that some staff, players and other participants in the 2020-21 season nonetheless will contract COVID-19.” The league urged teams to have plans ready to assist visiting team personnel or referees who happen to test positive away from their home cities, such as directing them toward isolation accommodations if necessary and to assist with that person’s care while recovering.
“The NBA wouldn’t have put this plan together and we wouldn’t have agreed to it if it wasn’t safe,” Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said Friday, before the protocols were given to teams. “We did a great job with the bubble and we’ll do what we feel is safe, the PA and the NBA.”
Mitchell — who tested positive for the v irus shortly after the league suspended last season on March 11, after Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player known to have contracted COVID-19 — also said that he expects players to take the virus very seriously, especially since a positive test almost certainly would sideline someone for several games.
There are two methods by which a player can return to play after a positive coronavirus test: one
is a test-based resolution, in which an infected individual has at least two consecutive negative PCR test results. The other is a timebased resolution, where a player would have to isolate, rest and avoid workouts for at least 10 days and then spend at least two more days training in isolation. He would also have to undergo cardiac screening before being cleared to return.
The league is still working with the union on specific protocols for life on the road, saying it wants to find ways to “promote more controlled environments and reduce nonessential interactions.” Teams will be urged to work with hotel vendors on best practices, such as face-mask usage and physical distancing, especially from people who are not part of a team’s travel party — which will be capped at 45 people, including players, coaches and staff.
There is a possibility that the league will have teams travel with someone whose specific task is to handle testing on the road. Those people — it may be one, it may be two — would not count toward the 45-person travel party total.
No players or coaches tested positive for the coronavirus after gaining entry to the NBA’S restart bubble that housed more than three months of practices and games at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., from early July through mid- October.
But with no bubble, the risk of exposure and positive tests is obviously much higher.
HALL OF FAME WEEKEND SCHEDULED>> Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will finally enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2021. The NBA said the delayed Hall of Fame weekend — it was to have taken place in Springfield, Mass., in August, before being pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic —
will be held from May 13-15.
College basketball
VIRGINIA TECH KNOCKS OFF NO. 3 VILLANOVA>> Keve Aluma had 23 points and eight rebounds, and Naheim Alleyne scored 20 points off the bench as Virginia Tech upset No. 3 Villanova, 81-73, in overtime in Uncasville, Conn. The Hokies are 2- 0; Villanova is 2-1.
NO. 2 BAYLOR 112, LA.-LAFAYETTE 82>> Macio Teague scored 21 points and the Bears won their delayed season opener over the Ragin’ Cajuns (0-1) in Las Vegas. Davion Mitchell finished with 18 points for the Bears.
NO. 9 DUKE 81, COPPIN STATE 71>> Freshman Jalen Johnson had 19 points, 19 rebounds and 4 blocks to help the Blue Devils (1- 0) overcome a turnover-filled performance in the delayed season opener for both teams in Durham, N.C.
NO. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 80, NOTRE DAME 70>> Aaron Henry had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists to help the host Spartans (2- 0) beat the Fighting Irish. The Spartans closed the first half with a 17- 0 run over seven-plus minutes and scored the first nine points of the second half to take a 22-point lead.
NAVY 73, MOUNT SAINT MARY’S 67>> Cam Davis had 26 points as Navy (2-1) beat Mount St. Mary’s (1-1) in College Park, Md. Damian Chong Qui had 18 points for the Mountaineers.
UC DAVIS 70, IDAHO STATE 64>> Ezra Manjon had 23 points as UC Davis (1-2) defeated Idaho State (0-3) in Santa Clara.
SANTA CLARA 73, NICHOLLS STATE 57>> Josip Vrankic had 28 points and 15 rebounds as Santa Clara (30) defeated visiting Nicholls State.
Motorsports
HAMILTON SETS TRACK RECORD IN BAHRAIN>> Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton set a track record at
the Bahrain Grand Prix on his way to a record-extending 98th career pole position.
The seven-time F1 champion looked in total control as he set a time of 1 minute, 27.264 seconds under the floodlights in Sakhir.
He finished about .3 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and around .4 clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Golf MERONK HOLDS LEAD INTO FINAL ROUND OF DUNHILL>>
Adrian Meronk clung on to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship as a couple of home players made big charges.
Meronk went to 14 under par overall at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, South Africa, with a 1-under 71 that included three birdies but also two bogeys.
Meronk has already made history here as the first Polish player to lead a European Tour event and is honing in on a maiden tour victory for himself and his country.
Jayden Schaper of South Africa made the biggest move with a 5-under 67 to go second on 13 under. Another home player, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, is third on 11 under after a 68.
Winter sports
KAGIYAMA, SAKAMOTO WIN NHK TROPHY>> With twotime Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu sitting it out, 17-year-old Yuma Kagiyama displayed plenty of flair to win the men’s title at the NHK Trophy, the final event of the figure skating Grand Prix series in Osaka, Japan.
Kagiyama landed a quad salchow at the start of his routine and added two quad toe loops en route to 188.61 points in the free skate for a total of 275.87.
In the women’s event, Kaori Sakamoto produced a near-flawless free skate to win the women’s NHK title.