NBA Suspends Season After Utaz Jazz Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Players for both teams were on the court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for warm-ups but were called back to the locker rooms. The NBA said the affected player was not in the arena and the test results were reported shortly before tip-off.

National Basketball Association (Image: AP)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is suspending its season after a player preliminary tested positive for coronavirus, the league announced Wednesday. The development came to light after the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder was abruptly postponed on Wednesday night. Players for both teams were on the court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for warm-ups but were called back to the locker rooms. The NBA said the affected player was not in the arena and the test results were reported shortly before tip-off.

NBA To Suspend Season Following Tonight's Games pic.twitter.com/2PTx2fkLlW

— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2020

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice," the NBA said in a statement. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic." The organization later decided to nix the last game of the night between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings. A referee assigned to work the game had previously worked a Utah Jazz game, the NBA said.

Here’s Rudy Gobert touching a bunch of reporters’ audio equipment 2 days ago. Today, he tested positive for coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/Z3Lw1yfCfW

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 12, 2020

In a statement, the Utah Jazz said a player on the team tested negative for influenza, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection Wednesday morning. "The individual's symptoms diminished over the course of today, however, in a precautionary measure, and in consultation and cooperation with NBA medical staff and Oklahoma health officials, the decision was made to test for COVID-19," the team said. The player is in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City, the team said. Reportedly, Rudy Gobert has tested positive for coronavirus and was ruled out of the game due to illness along with Jazz team-mate Emmanuel Mudiay. Globally, more than 1,00,000 people have contracted COVID-19 and more than 4,000 have died. WHO said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 outbreak can be characterized as a "pandemic" as the virus spreads increasingly worldwide.