A new report indicates that despite the closure of NBA training facilities and public gyms, some players are circumventing the process by managing to secretly practice at otherwise-closed gyms.
Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic looked at how the wide variety of rules regarding the re-opening of businesses within different states are affecting potential playoff teams. As a result, some players who don’t have access to private gyms are taking drastic steps to stay basketball-ready.
“As of now, no player is allowed into his team’s facility or some other gym to work out” Amick and Vardon wrote. “Development staffers are not supposed to be working with the players. If a player has a private gym at home, great. Many have said they do not. Others, according to multiple sources, are practicing secretly on their own at gyms that are supposed to be closed.”
While that may offer a leg up for some players, there is some concern about how safe such actions are in the face of this contagious pandemic.
“It’s just safer to have them in our gym, instead of random gyms all over the place,” said one assistant coach from a contending team.
The NBA has yet to offer any official timeline regarding the resumption of play, though one report suggested that Walt Disney World Resort could serve as a central site to complete the 2019-20 season. The facility has multiple courts available, though it’s not certain exactly when such a process might begin.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one team that’s eager to return to any court, considering that they held the best record in the Western Conference at 49-14 before play was suspended on March 11.
