Joe Apu, with agency report
The coronavirus scourge is fast taking its toll on sports around the world with the NBA as the last victim leading to the season getting suspended “until further notice.”
The suspension was announced Wednesday night, in the wake of a Jazz player testing positive for coronavirus.
And just like that, the league has gone from business as usual, to playing behind closed doors, and not playing at all.
“The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,’’ the league said in a statement issued Wednesday night.
“The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.’’
With outdoors league such as MLB and MLS going forward, NHL taking a wait-and-see approach and college basketball still playing — albeit behind closed doors — the NBA is an outlier and the first to shut down due to COVID-19.
Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, told ESPN the NBA has told teams they can continue to practice, and players have been told they should not have visitors from out of town.
“This is crazy. This can’t be true. Within the realm of possibilities this seemed more like out of a movie than reality,” Cuban told ESPN from courtside at the Mavs’ game.
“This is much bigger than just the NBA. … When we talk about getting the season back on track, that means all this got worked out, that, maybe, we understand more about it and it’ll be less of an issue for the entire country, the entire world. So, really, that’s most important.”