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The NBA is suspending the 2019-20 season in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced Wednesday. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Wednesday’s game featuring the Jazz and Thunder was postponed, with players being held in quarantine in OKC:
The Jazz and Thunder players are currently quarantined in the OKC arena, league sources tell ESPN. This is following Rudy Gobert testing positive for the coronavirus.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
This is the official press release regarding the suspension of play:
The NBA announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The test result was reported shortly prior to the tip-off of tonight’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. At that time, tonight’s game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena.
The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.