With COVID-19 putting a pause on the majority of areas in the life of global society, it was only a matter of time for the pandemic to impact sports. Despite the fact that sports can provide comfort to fans under challenging times, the world has stopped, and the same has happened to the remainder of the NBA season.
The season has ended as quickly as it ended, with the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans not even receiving a chance to play. The NBA has suspended the 2019-2020 season without giving any insight into when it would resume and whether it would resume at all. The occurrence has been a shock to fans because the league has never failed to offer entertainment and support to its fans, even in the most critical situations.
For instance, on July 6, 2019, the New York Knicks and Pelicans game was called off as a precaution during the 7.1 earthquake in southern California. However, the game took place soon after. Another disruption came with the Tweet by Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets general manager, who expressed his solidarity with the protests in Hong Kong. The league lost hundreds of millions when China responded with the elimination of NBA coverage on television.
Despite the many challenges and disruptions, basketball games never stopped, which is why the impact of COVID-19, the coronavirus, has been especially devastating. The virus has shown to be highly contagious and has already taken the lives of thousands of people around the world. Initially, the league was hesitant to make the radical decision to stop the games, predominantly due to financial reasons. The positive diagnosis of Rudy Gobert from Utah Jazz took the decision out of the NBA’s hands. Since the player was already infected, there was a high likelihood for other players to get the virus, with their lives being in danger.
The suspension of the season has been seen as a sign of a profoundly destabilized global society. Today, sports could have offered deep psychological comfort to fans staying at home in lockdown. However, there is no way to achieve that due to the high degree of risk for players themselves. Because for millions of Americans and fans worldwide, NBA represents an escape into something fun and inspiring, both players and team owners have already been discussing how the playoffs should be handled when it becomes safer for the games to resume.
At this point, there is no definite knowledge of what the future may hold; however, it is essential to be optimistic. While there is no set time frame that would indicate when the games would resume, the league can salvage something from the current season. By using some creativity and giving guidance to teams and players, it is possible to come up with an interesting and unique way in which the games could be resumed for fans’ enjoyment.
According to the NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the league is already working on a plan to save at least some part of the season. Las Vegas has emerged as the most suitable location for resuming the season. Both the tournament and the NBA Finals can take place at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, with the games being streamed online and on TV to give fans some entertainment and an opportunity to be happy about the accomplishments of their teams. At this time, the league is discussing the way in which the games would be structured, and there is time and room for experimentation to find the right solution. The decision regarding restarting the season without an in-person audience has been definite.
It is expected that the games would resume when the treatment for the coronavirus becomes available, and it becomes safe for players to train and meet with other teams to play sports. Although, the main objective of the NBA has been to return as early as possible without spectators.
After returning, the NBA will have some additional issues to solve apart from health concerns. For example, media experts have mentioned that any networks for regional sports could dispute any return of the playoffs that does not include a part of games for their outlets. To cover as many outlets as possible and to be readily available for the wider population, the NBA can use its present format for post-season media coverage, giving the opportunity to broadcast shortened first-round playoff games. After that, it is possible to shift to tournaments and a modified form of Finals for national media partners.
Ultimately, the state of affairs regarding COVID-19 would determine whether or not any sports league would return in 2020. The NBA is likely to continue suffering, especially given the recent loss of Kobe Bryant and David Stern, the two icons. Combined with the dramatic effect of the coronavirus, the league is currently undergoing significant challenges.
Moreover, the financial hit that the suspension has brought cannot be overlooked.
With the interruption from the pandemic, it has become more complicated for the NBA to determine the salary cap for the next year. Already, the agents of some players have a fear that it would drop below the current $109 million and even reach $100 million. Nevertheless, the impact on the revenue of the league is expected to be short-lived, with the potential for a future healthy balance sheet.
While there is still great potential for the NBA to provide entertainment for its fans, a decision should be made on how the current season should be managed. And because the lead needs its post-season to help overcome the significant revenue blow, it is expected that Las Vegas would serve as a safety net to crown this season’s champion. In the process, those who support the league financially should be at least partially satisfied.
The health and safety of fans, players, and the staff should be considered a priority at this time. Regardless of the financial impact of the coronavirus and the fact that the large audience is left without any sports entertainment, everything would get back to normal in several months. For the NBA, it may take even years to overcome the financial blow to the current season and resume to financial normalcy. From this point onward, almost everything is in play.
Overall, the playoffs will resume sooner or later. The games may not be what people are used to, but if it is possible to make them safe for players and create some happiness and excitement, there is something to which fans can look forward.