When the NBA suddenly suspended play Wednesday night, officials from teams bombarded the league office looking for guidance: Could the teams practice? What were players supposed to do with the time off? Could players fly back to wherever their home was for a few days?
The league’s response was, “give us a chance, this is all new to us, too.”
Thursday the league issued guidance for teams through the weekend, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The NBA has informed all 30 teams on policies effective immediately and through March 16, including:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 12, 2020
- All players must remain in market of team
- Players remain home as long as possible
- NO group workouts, practices
- Team physicians/trainers speak to each player once a day
Teams can do individual one-on-one workouts with players, but multiple players are not supposed to be in the practice facilities at the same time.
This keeps players close to the team facilities and in touch with the medical staff, but does not let a team try to gain an advantage with some extra practice. It encourages social distancing.
This just goes through the weekend. If the league is going to suspend play for 30 days and reassess, there will need to be regulations for the rest of that time, although those rules could evolve over time depending on if it feels like after the 30 days the league may resume play. There are just a lot of unknowns out there.