The 2019-20 NBA season might be finishing up at the happiest place on earth.
Like every other paused sports league in the world, the NBA is trying to figure out how to safely restart its campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a little while now, Las Vegas and Orlando have been two rumored locations to be the “hub” or “campus” environment for the league to play things out, with the Florida location, specifically Walt Disney World Resort, recently has emerged as the frontrunner.
And on Saturday afternoon, NBA spokesman Mike Bass indicated to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the league is looking into the possibility.
Here’s the full quote from NBA spokesman Mike Bass on negotiations with Disney. pic.twitter.com/29YSod7f9i
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 23, 2020
A Disney source of Keith Smith’s, who covers the NBA and worked at the theme park for 20 years, confirmed interest on their end.
From the same Walt Disney World source: "We understand that some teams are still unable to practice n their home markets. We are prepared to host them if they need a temporary home before the season resumes. We're prepared for a multiple-month partnerships to make this happen." https://t.co/O7ph4qPRZh
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 23, 2020
Obviously, details need to continue being hashed out. But NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on May 12 that he wanted to have a plan laid out either way in two-to-four weeks, so we’re nearing the time frame for a call to be made. And if a league spokesperson is going public about the matter, that’s a sign there’s plenty of legitimacy around the idea.
