NBA Teams To Close Practice Facilities

As COVID-19 continues to spread and federal regulations tighten, the NBA has also increased its leaguewide safety measures to prevent more players from contracting the virus. In a memo sent Thursday afternoon, the NBA mandated that all 30 teams close their practice facilities until further notice, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

While teams haven't been able to practice, players and coaches had previously been allowed to come into the gym to work out or shoot, but starting Friday, team facilities will be closed. On Sunday, the league also instructed players to avoid non-team training facilities, leaving them with "no choice but to attempt to work out at home as they, and the league, try to figure out what the next steps will be," according to Bontemps' reporting.

This will obviously make it difficult for players to maintain their conditioning and skill levels during the break, though one would figure the league would give teams at least a few days to practice and get back into form before starting the season back up. (One of the first things that crossed reporters' minds in Atlanta last Wednesday was whether and how teams would stay in shape and stave off rust while the season was suspended.)

"We told them to stay away. When we tell them to come in, we'll have good reason to tell them that," Lloyd Pierce said on March 11. "I can't imagine we're telling our guys to come in just to come in or anything. Find ways to stay in shape if you want to do so. But we'll all know at the same time and we'll make decisions there, but safety is for everybody. ... I think that' s the most important thing we can do right now."

The league has encouraged players to stay in their home cities for the time being, but on Thursday permitted them to leave if they chose to do so. Players still cannot travel outside of North America.

Players will not be allowed to travel outside of North America, league tells teams in a memo. https://t.co/6xLWddo2LC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 19, 2020

Being able to travel from state to state could give players leeway to visit other players with home gyms or courts, though most players seem to be taking social distancing and other coronavirus-related precautions rather seriously as more and more players test positive for COVID-19. After four members of the Brooklyn Nets (including Kevin Durant) tested positive on Tuesday, a player on the Denver Nuggets was diagnosed with novel coronavirus on Thursday. The player's identity was not disclosed, but team officials told Adrian Wojnarowski that he is "currently under care of [the] team medical staff and in self-isolation."