The NBA has been living a complete nightmare in recent hours, as the coronavirus has hit the USA, affecting the league and one of their players. Rudy Gobert was ruled out of the Thunder-Jazz game on Wednesday night due to an illness.
Before the tip-off, both teams were sent to the locker room by the officials prior to the official suspension of the match. Gobert and Emmanuel Mudiay were taken to the hospital afterward and results showed the Frenchman has tested positive for the COVID-19.
Following this, the NBA has made the decision to suspend the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Following Rudy Gobert's positive COVID-19 test, the NBA is in an indefinite suspension. https://t.co/h7YpWMrvGE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 12, 2020
Moreover, the Jazz and Thunder players are quarantined at the Chesapeake Arena following these results, as per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Jazz and Thunder players are currently quarantined in the OKC arena, league sources tell ESPN. This is following Rudy Gobert testing positive for the coronavirus.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
Woj adds the league “will use hiatus to determine next steps moving forward”. Before that, they had two options: one was to continue playing without fans attending the games or to stop the action for some time. Now we know the second option prevailed and we will be without basketball for a while.
The NBA "will use hiatus to determine next steps moving forward," league says. https://t.co/tWoRO8pbfT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
This is an indefinite suspension and the league is taking the same steps as other major competitions around the world trying to protect their players, staff and fans.
