Players for both the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder were already warming up on the floor at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Wednesday night when they were summoned back to the locker rooms. The confused fans waited for 30 minutes before the announcement was made - the game was called off and so was the rest of the season.
League officials said the decision was made following the confirmation that a player tested positive for Coronavirus. It was understood that the player did not attend the game to get the test, and he was not in the arena for the Jazz-OKC showdown.
The Dallas News identified the player as Rudy Gobert, who plays center for Utah. Gobert was taken to a local hospital for the test, and the result was transmitted to NBA executives hours before the game started.
In a statement, the NBA said it 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," added the statement.
According to CNN, the affected player initially tested negative for influenza but was submitted for another round of examination as a precautionary measure.
"The individual's symptoms diminished over the course of today, however, in a precautionary measure, and in consultation and cooperation with NBA medical staff and Oklahoma health officials, the decision was made to test for COVID-19," the report quoted the statement issued by Utah Jazz on the matter.
The local government in Utah has indicated that members of the Utah Jazz organization will undergo the same test administered on the player and that tracing will be undertaken to identify the individuals that interacted and were potentially exposed to the virus.
Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said he was shocked by the development, adding, "This is much bigger than the NBA ... It's like out of a movie. It's not even real."
"I'll just say to everybody, don't jump to conclusions. Don't be rash about it. Do what's right for your families. That's what I would do," Cuban advised.
The decision to suspend the games with no assurance of resuming soon was a tough call made by league officials, CBS Sports said in a report.
"The NBA has billions of dollars on the line ... The league is naturally doing everything in its power to preserve that revenue, but the increasingly dangerous virus has already begun cutting into that bottom line," said the report.
Prior to the season suspension, it has been planned that due to the rising cases of Coronavirus infection, NBA games will be played without spectators, which the NCAA said will be the same case for the college league.
But in light of the development, it looks like many sports organizations will go to the same route taken by the NBA. CNN said the National Hockey League (NHL) would give an update this week if games will continue as usual or will be suspended.
