BREAKING: NBA suspends season amid Coronavirus confirmation
The NBA has suspended its season following a presumptive positive Coronavirus diagnosis of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 17: The 2017 NBA All-Star logo is seen on a net prior to the 2017 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at Smoothie King Center on February 17, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesBy Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com
The NBA has suspended its season following a presumptive positive Coronavirus diagnosis of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
The league released the following statement within minutes of Gobert's positive test Wednesday night.
The NBA announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The test result was reported shortly prior to the tip-off of tonight’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. At that time, tonight’s game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena.
The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of right now, there is no indication as to when the league will resume play or if/when games will be made up.
Gobert's Jazz have played the Celtics twice in the last few weeks, in Utah on Feb. 26 and in Boston on March 6.
UPDATE: The NHL released a statement about half an hour after the NBA. They will have an announcement regarding the status of their season on Thursday.
This is a developing story, more information will be added as it comes in...
Alex BarthWriter
Alex Barth is a digital content producer and on-air host for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Barth grew up in the Boston area and began covering the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox in 2017 before joining the Hub in 2020. He now covers all things Boston Sports for 985TheSportsHub.com as well as appearing on air. Alex writes about all New England sports, as well as college football. You can follow him across all social media platforms at @RealAlexBarth.
