NBA Not Pausing Season Amid COVID-19 Surge

Right now, the number of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases in the United States alone now stands at 23 million, and yet, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has no plans of hitting the pause button on the 2020-2021 regular season. 

While the league has already postponed two regular-season games due to COVID-19 protocols with the latest one being between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, the league has already anticipated that there would be multiple postponements of games which is why the league only released the schedule for the first half of the new season. In a statement, NBA Spokesperson Mike Bass said, "We anticipated that there would be game postponements this season and planned this season accordingly. There are no plans to pause the season. We will continue to be guided by our medical experts and our health and safety protocols.”

In December 2020, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that there's still a chance that the league could still suspend the season if needed but he didn't specify how grave the situation needed to become before a suspension of the season happens. 

One way or another, the 2020-2021 season could still be suspended especially if the rise of COVID-19 cases in the United States doesn't slow down.   

Photo is from WILX.com