The NBA started it! How the NBA is handling and should handle COVID-19

NBA basketball

Obviously all sports have taken a big blow with everything that has happened, but out of all the sports  I would say basketball has taken by far the biggest blow in 2020 with the unexpected death of one the greatest basketball players we've ever seen in Kobe Bryant, all college tournaments cancelled, and the NBA season unable to continue forward. But not just that, there's a high probability we will not see an NBA draft due to the lasting effects of COVID-19. How that will be resolved moving forward, not many know.  Considering how basketball is almost a year round sport, I can't say that I am surprised that it's been the most impacted by it, but what is surprising and unexpected is how the NBA was technically the cause of the downward spiral in sports. 

Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert of France plays against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

With the unexpected news of Rudy Gobert having been diagnosed with coronavirus, the entire sports world was shook. The Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were prepared to square off when the referees grouped together to discuss what to do after the news had been received. They came to the conclusion that the game should be cancelled and since then, it only went downhill. Eventually the NBA decided to postpone it's season because of this and the rest of the sports world soon followed. The NBA before this occurrence, actually thought about having games with no fans in order to continue the season without worry of faculty workers and players catching COVID-19. However, Los Angeles Laker player Lebron James, came out with a statement saying he would not play if he did not play in front of fans. It's easy to wonder how things might've gone had they decided to follow through with their original plan, but either way it would have been controversial and would not have been the same as a regular NBA game. 

Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz doing a live with Dr. Michele Kong (courtesy of @NBA Instagram Live)

Without sports, we now see NBA players turning to social media to get their publicity. Players like Joe Ingles (above) and Stephen Curry talk to doctors to help gain more insight to this virus and methods we can use to help prevent the spread. Compare to the NFL and their players, and the NBA looks almost desperate for attention at this point. While the NBA is basically shut down and there is little sign of a possible regular season conclusion, the NFL's free agency is still buzzing and is what most sports fans have to cling to during this sports drought. Not only that, the NFL is still expected to do the draft, no change of date. Every time I scroll through Instagram I see NBA highlights from epic past games as well as Kobe's highlights every now and then. Maybe it's not too farfetched to say the NBA has grown very desperate to be noticed and not get buried by the NFL, which seems to not be phased at all by what is happening. Sure, there is the possibility of the season getting pushed back, but being the most popular sport in America really doesn't make that an issue at all. 

NBA versus NFL photo

With the way the offseason has gone with the NFL with the additions of Tom Brady going to the Buccaneers and the renovated Dallas Cowboys, the NFL 2020 season is promising to be an interesting one indeed. This becomes a problem for the NBA when they are having questions on if they are going to even complete the 2019 season. Not finishing could be a big blow for the NBA in terms of money and popularity. After all, the NBA for 3 seasons in a row had the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors going to the Finals back to back to back (The third one being the worst and most uninteresting). By the time the third one came, I was over it and was ready for new teams to emerge. After the Raptors ended the Warriors dynasty a season later, there was promise of a new start in the NBA with new teams being built and for most of this regular season, it was anyone's guess who would make it all the way this season. However, now the NBA has a stumbling block right after it convinced the world that it most likely would not have the same teams competing for a championship once again. 

I can't say anyone really knows how Adam Silver and the NBA are going to handle this, but I think everyone knows at this point that cancelling the NBA season for the rest of the year would really hurt the NBA. The NBA should definitely consider extending it's season, but while also avoiding a potential clash with the MLB and NFL because they will not only hurt themselves, but most likely the MLB as well (Though I would like to think the NFL would be somewhat affected by this as well). Regardless, the NBA needs to get the season started back up as soon as possible if they have any hope of making the season relevant and interesting again. 

The NBA from what we can see is highly dependent on social media (specifically Twitter and Instagram enough as it is, so I think if the corona continues to be an issue but players show signs that they have fully recovered and aren't continuing to cause it to spread, then the NBA should execute the no fans plan and stream games anywhere possible. It would give them an advantage as people are looking for sports to become back involved in their lives and we all know ESPN is looking for something to get the public's attention as well. The NBA could make a lot of revenue off of doing this because it would be the only sport people can watch. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver (@courtesy of NY Times)

Adam Silver has definitely impressed the media with how he has handled this issue with COVID-19 and he has shown himself to be a lot more conservative than a risk taker so to say that the NBA might actually do this seems highly unlikely. However, Adam Silver knows as well as I do that the NBA has taken a hit because of how 2020 has gone, so I really think taking a risk is something the NBA needs to do when possible if it hopes to rebound and start the rebuilding process.