The NBA became the first professional sports league to halt operations when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became “patient zero” after testing positive for the coronavirus back in March.
Teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive, while four members of the Brooklyn Nets — including Kevin Durant — had a positive test result.
Marcus Smart was the lone member of the Boston Celtics to come down with the virus, but since has been cleared.
There were seven known cases in the NBA, and Adam Silver said that number has risen. The commissioner addressed the media after his Board of Governors meeting Friday, but would not give the actual number of positive cases due to privacy reasons, per MassLive’s John Karalis.
Silver says the number of positive COVID-19 tests is greater than the reported number of 7, but he's not sharing the actual number due to privacy reasons
— John Karalis ?? (@RedsArmy_John) April 17, 2020
MassLive’s Tom Westerholm added the league won’t report anymore cases because the players are home and no longer traveling for games.
Adam Silver says the number of positive tests in the NBA is now greater than seven, but the league is no longer reporting because players are staying at home again.
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) April 17, 2020
There’s no timetable for when — or if — the NBA season will return as the pandemic continues to sweep the United States. But the health of the players, arena staff and the families of everyone involved, is what’s most important.
