Life without basketball is really starting to sink in for NBA players and fans alike, as the league has now be shut down for over a week with no immediate return in sight. Playing NBA 2K, rewatching old games and envisioning fun playoff scenarios are all good distractions but they're just that, distractions.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has taken up playing the guitar during the NBA hiatus, summed up everyone's feelings in one simple IG post on Wednesday night: "I miss the game, man."
The reigning NBA MVP (and frontrunner to win it again this year) was averaging career-highs in points and rebounds this season before the coronavirus outbreak forced the league to shut down. In 57 appearances, Giannis ranks third in the league in points per game (29.4) and third in rebounds per game (13.7) to go along with 5.8 assists per night. Not to mention, he has led the Bucks to the best record in the NBA at 53-12.
You'd miss the game too if you were dominating like that on a nightly basis.
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In an effort to calm the basketball withdrawals being felt by the players and fans, the NBA has announced that League Pass is now free until April 22nd. This included access to an expansive archive of classic games and content, as well as full length and condensed replays of all games from the 2019-20 season.
You can redeem the free NBA League Pass offer by signing into your NBA account through NBA.com or the NBA App on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and other supported devices.
Adam Silver Reveals NBA’s Latest Idea Amid Coronavirus Shutdown
The NBA has been shut down for about a week and fans are already begging for some kind of entertainment.
Adam Silver has been one of the best commissioners in all of sports and throughout this Coronavirus pandemic, the NBA boss has been a true leader. He was the first commissioner to suspend his league's season and continues to find ways in which he can make the season go on. While nothing is for certain at this point, us sports fans can find solace in the fact that Silver is working hard to get the show back up and running.
Yesterday, Silver spoke with Rachel Nichols of ESPN and gave a hopeful response when asked about what the league might do this season. In fact, Silver is thinking of putting together a charity game that would tide fans over until the playoffs happen. This is, of course, if the postseason is even possible at this point.
"One of the things we've been talking about... are there conditions in which a group of players could compete," Silver said. "Maybe it's for a giant fundraiser or for the collective good of the people. You take a subset of players and is there a protocol where they can be tested, quarantined, or isolated in some way to compete against each other. Because again, people are stuck at home, and I think they need a diversion, and they need to be entertained."
While it may not be the regular-season, at least it would be something. At this point, sports fans are starving for content.
LeBron James Shares His Classic HS Basketball Footage
LeBron James throws it back to 2002 with some classic St. Vincent-St. Mary high school basketball footage.
The NBA season has been shut down for approximately one week now as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many NBA players, and fans, wondering exactly what they're supposed to do with their free time. We've seen some, like Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso, dive into the gaming community, while others, such as Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, have tried to envision how the league can proceed once players are permitted to get back on the court.
And then there's LeBron James, who has been passing the time by rewatching his classic St. Vincent-St. Mary High School footage. On Tuesday night, the Lakers superstar posted some clips on his Instagram Live of a 2002 showdown against Columbus Brookhaven, one of the most highly touted programs in the state. In fact, this was one of the few games that LeBron's squad actually lost.
Check out some of that footage, including commentary from the man himself, in the video embedded below.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA Board of Governors remain hopeful that the season/playoffs could resume before July. In the meantime, NBA stars, and fans, will have to rely on classic footage or NBA 2K to help ease the basketball withdrawals.
Also - today marks the seventh anniversary of the time LeBron bodybagged Jason Terry in Boston.
Nets’ Dinwiddie Suggests March Madness-Like NBA Playoff Format
Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie poses an interesting league-wide tournament if NBA season resumes following coronavirus outbreak.
The NBA season, as well as every other sports schedule, has been put on pause until further notice as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. As it stands, NBA action will be suspended until at least April 12th, 30 days after commissioner Adam Silver made the original announcement, but there's a growing belief that the game will be sidelined for much longer than that.
If and when the games resume, the league will surely have to present a revised schedule so that the playoffs don't drag out deep into the summer. One idea, posed by Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, is to hold a league-wide March Madness-like tournament.
Under Dinwiddie's format, every team in the league would essentially be awarded a spot in the playoffs. The top four seeds, the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers, would all receive first-round byes.
Meanwhile, the bottom for teams, the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors, would be matched up in a pair of best-of-three series' with the winners moving on into the first round bracket. The 24-team first round would utilize a best-of-five format, and then the typical seven-game series would resume once the field is narrowed down to the final 16.
Who knows if the NBA will actually consider such a radical change to their playoff format but it's certainly an intriguing option to discuss.
Utah Jazz Players Extremely Frustrated With Rudy Gobert: Report
Utah Jazz players are reportedly pissed at Rudy Gobert: "There is a lot of work to do to repair relationships."
Utah Jazz All Star center Rudy Gobert isn't the most popular guy in the NBA right now, and he has some work to do if he hopes to get back in the good graces of his own teammates. Gobert, who had carelessly mocked the coronavirus outbreak earlier this week, became the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday night, leading to a league-wide shutdown.
While the suspension of the NBA season is in the best interest of everyone, Gobert's teammates are still extremely frustrated with him for (unintentionally) passing along the infection to Donovan Mitchell.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
During Thursday night's edition of SportsCenter, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski explained, "The Jazz are fortunate that they don't have to get back together and start playing games again right now. There is a lot of work to do to repair relationships." Woj adds, "There's a lot of frustration with Gobert."
Gobert, 27, made light of the pandemic following Monday's shoot around when he jokingly touched every microphone on the podium. Furthermore, Jazz players privately said that "Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings."
Donovan Mitchell took to instagram to provide an update on his status after testing positive for COVID-19, which included the following message that was surely directed at Gobert, "hopefully people can continue to educate themselves and realize that they need to behave responsibly both for their own health and for the well being."
Click here to check out Gobert's public apology.
Chris Gardner/Getty Images
Utah Jazz Star Donovan Mitchell Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, after Rudy Gobert had been "careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings."
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday night, and now the dominos are starting to fall. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Donovan Mitchell has also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Gobert had jokingly touched every microphone on the podium after Mondays' shoot around, and apparently he continued his nonsense in the locker room. According to Woj, multiple Jazz players privately said that "Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings."
That said, The Athletic's Shams Charania notes that Mitchell was the only Jazz player/personnel to test positive out of the 58 tests administered on Wednesday night.
The Jazz were scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but the game came to a halt just before tipoff after it was discovered that Gobert tested positive. Gobert never made it to the arena on Wednesday night, but players from both teams were tested after the game was postponed and the season was ultimately suspended until further notice.
Additionally, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports that players on teams that the Jazz have faced within the past 10 days have been advised to self-quarantine. This includes the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors.
Stephen A. Smith Offers Nuanced Take On Coronavirus
The NBA is thinking about taking some drastic measures against the virus.
Coronavirus has officially been named a pandemic by the World Health Organization and the world is scared about what this could mean going forward. The NBA is among the institutions who are trying to devise some plans in regards to what to do next. In fact, all 30 teams will have a phone call today to discuss whether or not the season should go on or if the games should be played without fans.
Today on ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith spoke out about COVID-19 and the risk it is posing to the players. Smith took a nuanced approach with this news item, stating that as a fan, he's hurt but as a human being, he is worried about what the spread of the disease could mean, going forward.
"As a basketball fan I'm depressed. As a human being and as an American citizen, I'm getting to the point where I'm scared as hell," Smith said. Soon after making these comments, it was revealed that the Golden State Warriors would be playing against the Brooklyn Nets without any fans, due to a new municipal law.
Stay tuned for updates on what the NBA decides moving forward. This is a huge public health risk and it's clear that the NBA is taking this all very seriously.
