The NBA bubble proves effective
An effective strategy to keep sports playing during COVID-19
Utah Jazz Guard Donovan Mitchell, lays on the floor next to Denver Nuggets Guard Jamal Murray, after a heartbreaking defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Sep. 1 in the NBA “Bubble”.
October 15, 2020
Since COVID-19 shut down the world in March, everyone has been looking for ways to “flatten the curve”, and return to some normalcy, and the National Basketball Association is no different.
By July 30, the 2019-2020 NBA season resumed play. However plenty of sacrifices had to be made by the players, coaches, janitors, faculty, and everyone who was invited to come to the “NBA Bubble” in Orlando, Florida.
The “Bubble” is an idea that the NBA Board of Governors approved June 4, which is a quarantine zone where 22 teams, 9 from the Eastern Conference, 13 from the Western Conference, would quarantine in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. for the remainder of the season.
However the “Bubble”, came with a lot of sacrifices everyone in the NBA had to accept. For instance, all of the athletes were allowed suites for their immediate family to stay in while the games were played yet the coaches were not allowed to have any family in the “Bubble” at all. According to ABC News, only a limited number of people were allowed into the “Bubble” and athletes’ families were top priority.
Certain athletes however, also missed out on many family firsts. For instance Boston Celtics Forward, Gordon Hayward, was unable to witness the birth of his child due to wanting to stay in the “Bubble” to finish out the rest of their Playoffs series against the Miami Heat and to limit as much exposure as possible, as well as Los Angeles Lakers Guard Alex Caruso, missed his sister’s wedding due to also not wanting to leave the “Bubble” as well.
However the “Bubble” has proven to be an extremely effective tactic against COVID-19. Since the athletes who have lived inside this “Bubble” since July 30, there has not been a single case of COVID-19 making it the only professional sport with no cases.
In the beginning of the season, it was questionable if the MLB would even have a season due to the spike in cases all across the league. In the NFL, the Titans/Steelers game on Oct. 4 was postponed due to the Titans having up to nine athletes testing positive for COVID-19, making the NBA the only major sports league that is not seeing any cases meaning their system is working.
