NBA COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES NBA SEASON INDEFINITELY SUSPENDED
MARCH 12, 2020 by Tommy Johnson
This is a headline you don’t see every day. Needless to say, the past few days has seen the Cancellation of SXSW, the postponement of Coachella, Stagecoach and other music festivals throughout the country, and worldwide. Now, the NBA has suspended its season due to coronavirus concerns.
The announcement came after a very confusing mid-game suspension of play between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA announced that a player tested positive, and as a result will now be indefinitely suspended. The Commissioner’s Office said that “The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Over the past few days, the league had discussed playing games in empty arenas, a decision star LeBron James previously had spoken out against. In a Tweet James said “Man we cancelling sporting events, school, office work, etc etc. What we really need to cancel is 2020!” James tweeted following the news of the league-wide suspension. “Damn it’s been a rough 3 months. God bless and stay safe.”
Most NBA teams had about 15 to 20 games left. The regular season was set to end April 15 with the playoffs to begin three days later. The NCAA said earlier in the day that all of its basketball tournament games would be played without fans.
This a fluid and developing situation, more details to come as this story evolves.