NBA players gladly will return to the hardwood under one condition: safety.
Results of a confidential, informal poll the National Basketball Players Association conducted reveal “overwhelming” support among NBA players for resuming the 2019-20 season if it happens in a safe environment, The Associated Press reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the survey.
The poll also reportedly showed players would want to play at least some of the remaining regular-season games before competing in the NBA playoffs.
The reported results coincide with rumors, which claim optimism over whether to resume the season exists in the aftermath of an NBA Board of Governors call Tuesday. NBA commissioner Adam Silver hopes to decide within the next two to four weeks whether to return to action or scrap the campaign, which has been suspended since March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Safe” seems to be the key word in The AP’s report, and the issue of testing players and staff undoubtedly is central to their assessment of their working environments.
The nature of the NBPA poll is unclear. The NBPA insisted Tuesday night in a statement to The Athletic’s Shams Charania that it wasn’t conducting the reported poll. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the poll had, in fact, taken place.
The AP’s report also notes “exact results of the poll were unknown, and the methodology behind the poll — including how many players participated — was unclear.” Perhaps this explains, at least partially, the dispute over the poll’s existence.
Since The AP’s source presumably is different from Wojnarowski’s, we’ll fall on the “poll took place” side of the debate and give credence to the report on the players’ feelings on resuming play.
