On June 1, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is expected to lay out plans for restarting the season. Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NBA 'shoring up its testing protocols' in effort to resume season

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 5/21/20

The 2019-20 NBA season has been suspended since March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. It has been a long time coming, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

On June 1, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is expected to lay out plans for restarting the season, with the expectation that play will resume some time during the first half of July.

One of the largest components of a return to action will be widespread testing of players, team personnel and family members. It’s estimated the NBA will need 15,000 tests, according to report.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA has informed teams it has engaged in conversations with several national coronavirus testing providers. Charania specifically mentions the following companies:

NBA shoring up its testing protocols, informing teams that it is engaged in conversations with BioReference Laboratories, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics and Vault Health/RUCDR Infinite Biologics at Rutgers, sources said. Teams asked to create account with each company. https://t.co/s2LoeBn5Mi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 21, 2020

If these conversations bring about widespread testing for the NBA, one of the primary obstacles to resuming the season will have been overcome.

The Association is reportedly considering plans on resuming the season in bubble cities at Walt Disney World in Orlando and the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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