Report: NBA Referees to Arrive in Orlando on July 12

The next phase of the NBA restart is beginning. Most NBA teams are scheduled to arrive this week, and now NBA referees will be coming soon as well.

According to Ben Dowsett of Forbes, NBA referees are scheduled to arrive in Orlando on July 12.

Per a league source: NBA referees slated to officiate the Orlando restart will be arriving at Disney on July 12th, after which they'll take part in a "Ref Restart Camp" for prep.

All officials will be part of the league's daily COVID testing protocols.
— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) July 6, 2020

Once they arrive, they'll take a part in a "Ref Restart Camp" to get prepared for the season. One would have to assume there will be a bit of a learning curve for referees in an empty arena. They're going to hear more trash talk than ever, and need to figure out ways to not get trigger happy with the technical fouls.

In addition, the NBA is still finalizing the exact number of officials that will be working in Orlando.

An alarming number of training facilities have closed from players testing positive for COVID-19, and it has fans worried. This is something the NBA was expecting, and it shouldn't set anyone in panic mode. Hypothetically speaking, the panic button should be pressed if a high cluster of cases were to occur in the bubble.

The thing to remember is that this isn't a situation that one can have all the answers to. All of the sports world is operating in uncharted territory right now. Despite that, the NBA isn't taking a haphazard approach to this restart. They're clearly taking more effort in this than the MLB is currently taking. Anything that costs media $45,000 to be a part of, isn't going to be lackadaisical. This is an expensive and highly coordinated procedure.

A new world begins for NBA players and referees this week, and it's full speed ahead.