What has become the most unpredictable, competitive, and entertaining NBA regular season in years is at risk of not seeing a conclusion thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak that has shook the globe over the last two months.
After the association put their season on hold due to multiple players testing positive for the coronavirus, all other in-season sports followed in their footsteps by taking a hiatus.
That hiatus is at risk of becoming permanent with details about the state of the NBA season specifically coming out on Sunday.
According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA owners are getting ready for at least a three month break without regular season play. That means, at the earliest, the league could resume play in late June.
Unfortunately for those hoping to get a final chapter on a season that has at least 10 teams one could argue a legitimate case for winning the Larry O'Brian Trophy, a return in the early summer is simply best-case-scenario.
In a piece for ESPN, Wojnarowski discussed the feeling some executives have about potentially losing the season.
"Fears exist of a season completely lost, especially based on what some experts see as the slow response of the United States to flatten the curve of the coronavirus and make testing available on a widespread basis," Wojnarowski said. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation on Sunday night that no events or gatherings should include more than 50 people for the next eight weeks."
The league could make a return down the road with or without fans in the arena if the outbreak were to slow down. Perhaps some games could be played in practice facilities, if worse comes to worse.
Story includes NBA's willingness to consider team practice facilities for games with no fans — and perhaps a unique television viewing experience. Everything's on the table. https://t.co/sUDowk4aac
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 16, 2020They could even potentially jump right into the playoffs. But even if the postseason started immediately when play resumes in the summer, an offseason could be shortened by months.
That would then pose the question of whether or not the NBA would need to push the 2020-21 regular season start later in the winter.
It's a lot of what-ifs in such a state of limbo, but one thing is for sure - there is no guarantee the 2019-20 season will see a new NBA champion.
In a year that featured so many even teams, many with a duo of stars ready to face off in the playoffs (unlike previous years of one team dominating thanks to Kevin Durant), it would be an extremely hard pill to swallow.
If the season was to come back, some former players believe the time off could result in the best postseason gameplay in a long time.
.@Matt_Barnes22 says pushing the NBA playoffs to the late summer could give us "the best playoffs we've seen." ----(via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/SGenq9S8h5
— ESPN (@espn) March 16, 2020Many scenarios are at play right now, but until more develops on the spread of the coronavirus, we can only cross our fingers that a proper ending comes to such a special NBA season.
