Fans may not return to Staples Center Until 2021

The good news is that there's a chance basketball may return, the bad news is that there's a chance fans may not return to Staples Center until 2021.

Today, both Dr. Fauci, and LA mayor Eric Garcetti provided updates on the subject of sports returning. Fauci gave a positive outlook as he laid out the plan to having sports returning without fans.

"There's a way of doing that," Fauci said on 'Good Luck America.' "Nobody comes to the stadiums. Put [athletes] in big hotels, wherever you want to play. Keep them very well-surveilled, but have them tested like every week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their families and just let them play the season out."

Dr. Athony Fauci has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. He is currently one of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Fauci often has a more cautious approach when it comes to tackling COVID-19, so for him to propose this idea is a very optimistic sign.

On the opposite end, LA mayor Eric Garcetti stated on CNN that "it would be very difficult to see" fans coming to sporting events in LA until at least 2021. The only exception would be if there is a vaccine, or if "public health officials give a green light." That green light could come in the form of a vaccine, or herd immunity.

"Until there's either a vaccine, some sort of pharmaceutical intervention, or herd immunity, the science is the science," Garcetti said on CNN. "Public health officials have been very clear. We've got many, many miles to walk before we're going to be back in those environments. I hope we can perhaps watch sporting events without audiences on TV."

So while there's still a chance you may see your favorite NBA team crowned as champions this season, there's a zero percent chance you'll be able to celebrate the occasion in person.