Four years have elapsed since the start of a time when reality itself was uncertain. A new virus was ravaging through the world and had found itself infiltrating the NBA. Every minute, events were rapidly changing and the league was constantly holding meetings to determine the next and appropriate course of action.
On the night of March 11, 2020, the NBA officially suspended the season. Following nation-wide decisions to limit capacities in certain areas, the league was faced with a choice to follow, which quickly became a necessity. The walls were caving in, and lives were at stake.
The events which affected not only the NBA but all the other sports leagues, and of course the entire world, did not occur in a vacuum. A rapid chain of events led to the NBA’s historic decision to shut down the entire league, officially suspending the season. It left everyone to wonder: what was next?
Impending Uncertainty
When the coronavirus reached the United States in early 2020, the NBA was ahead of the game. The league tracked the virus closely, with Commissioner Adam Silver regularly speaking with CDC officials and discussing with the player’s union the possibility of potentially playing games without fans in attendance.
In early March, a recommendation — but not a requirement — surfaced that encouraged players to fist bump rather than high fiving, and to refrain from signing autographs for fans. Additionally, on March 9, the NBA issued a joint statement with the MLB, NHL, and MLS regarding the official limitation of the player locker rooms to team personnel, officially banning the media from entering.
On the morning of March 11, 2020, Adam Silver held a conference call with the 30 NBA owners to discuss the next course of action. At that time, the severities of the impact would not yet be realized, but the consensus was that they would eventually reach a point where games would have to be played without fans in attendance. Little did they know, that point would be reached the very same day.
The Walls Cave In
March 11, 2020 was still on schedule to be a standard night for the NBA. Numerous games around the league were on the docket for that night, with tickets already being sold for those games. But at 1:45 p.m. Eastern time, San Francisco Mayor London Breed officially banned gatherings of over 1,000 people in the city.
At this point, the NBA was directly affected. The Golden State Warriors announced that their scheduled game on March 12 against the Brooklyn Nets would officially be held without fans in attendance, and all fans who purchased tickets for the game would be refunded. All other events at the Chase Center, the Warriors’ arena, would be postponed through at least March 21, though we now know that that date would end up being much longer.
Up to that point, the NBA had considered moving potential games out of major cities such as San Francisco, and playing them elsewhere, though that decision ended up not becoming a reality until the ‘bubble’ a few months later. But the walls were already caving in, and the very same evening would see those walls finally collapse in on the league.
The Utah Jazz were about to square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shortly before tipoff, however, it was revealed among personnel that a player in the building had become infected with COVID-19. The virus had officially penetrated the league by infecting a fellow player, and a player due to participate in that game, at that.
Players who were in the midst of warm-up were told to return to their locker rooms, as the game would be suspended. Referees and coaches huddled up to discuss the next steps, and to relay the information to the broadcasters and arena P.A. announcer Mario Nanni, who delivered the news.
At 8:39 p.m., just prior to tip-off, the league made the dramatic decision to announce to the crowd, and the nation, that the game had officially been suspended. The arena packed with fans would be forced to evacuate, with the look of uncertainty plastered across each and every one of the unsuspecting customers’ faces.
Two games were already in progress at that point, with fans in attendance: the Denver Nuggets versus the Dallas Mavericks, and the Atlanta Hawks versus New York Knicks. The decision was made to play those games out and officially suspend the season following the conclusion of those games.
The infected player was confirmed to be Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, who was seen touching microphones as he walked out of the media room, treating the virus as if it were a joke.
Thunder players were given the green light to leave the arena, while Jazz players had to stay behind for testing. At 9:37 p.m., the decision was officially made to suspend the NBA season for at least 30 days, though we now know that period lasted much longer.
Another game scheduled to tipoff later that night, New Orleans Pelicans versus Sacramento Kings, was postponed prior to tipoff. A referee who was scheduled to officiate that game had officiated the Utah Jazz a week prior, and with the virus spreading among that team, the plug was officially pulled.
Changes Since the Shutdown
It took a long period of time for the NBA to return to its current form, which is mostly the way it was prior to the pandemic. The 2019–20 season did eventually continue in the summer, with the decision to host all games at the Walt Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida, without fans. This effectively became dubbed the ‘bubble’ due to its isolation from the outside world.
The Los Angeles Lakers would go on to win the 2020 NBA Finals, with LeBron James securing his fourth ring. The team tied the Boston Celtics with 17 championships, the most of the league. It would take a long time for fans to return to games, with the first such instance of this occurring in early 2021, with limited capacities.
2021 saw rapid advancements in COVID-19 treatment, including the vaccine and more effective treatments, as well as herd immunity. The 2020–21 NBA season was delayed quite a bit, beginning on December 22, 2020, and consisting of only 72 games due to that reason.
By the summer of 2021, fans were back to all arenas in full force, with many arenas at full capacity. The playoffs began a month later than usual, in May, with the Finals concluding in July. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks notched the 2021 Finals, and by the 2021–22 season, capacities and format were effectively restored to pre-COVID days.
However, remnants of changes made for the 2020 season still remain today. The play-in tournament was created to allow more teams into the 2020 playoffs due to the suspended season, and it is a component that continues to this day, albeit slightly altered.
Additionally, NBA All-Star Game formats changed to use an Elam Ending in 2020, with teams playing to reach a final score for each quarter, and then whichever team won that quarter would donate $100,000 for a certain charity. Though this format was technically implemented in February 2020 prior to the shutdown, it lasted until the 2023 All-Star Game.
The reality remains that the pandemic changed the way society functioned for many years, with many of its effects lasting to this day. The NBA was certainly not immune to this, with it becoming a victim of the virus and subsequent shutdowns.
Now four years removed from that fateful day, the league has effectively returned to normal, though certain effects spawned from that era that live on to this day. But through it all, the game of basketball lived on, culminating in a league and game now stronger than ever.
Chris K is a writer and publisher who travels America, and loves doing it. He also loves pizza, video games, and sports, and can tell you a thing or two about each. Follow him on Twitter and on Medium to be informed of new articles.
