NBA: LeBron James, Team Owners And Executives Are Optimistic On Potential Season Return

The NBA was one of the first major sporting leagues to take action regarding the threat of the coronavirus. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) recently held a star-studded meeting to discuss the season’s potential return.

The NBPA president Chris Paul led the meeting with the game's best players from across the league. Among those in attendance were LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook. The agenda of the call was to discuss the feel of how the basketball can return despite the rapidly evolving time.

It has been months since the last time the NBA held any basketball action. The league took immediate action when Utah Jazz’s big man Rudy Gobert tested positive of COVID-19. Days later, reports of other NBA stars getting the virus emerged. The games have been suspended since March as everyone as the players and staff continues to be compliant with the social distancing guidelines.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the superstars of the league were united in the resumption of the games.

“Some of the NBA’s biggest superstars formed a united front to resume the 2019-20 season during a private conference call Monday, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Haynes wrote.

“Toward the end of the call discussing the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, all parties were in agreement to take the court with proper safety measures once the league is given the green light to commence, sources said,” Haynes added.

There have been alternatives in returning the season such as playing in a city where the players are quarantined. While it’s a creative solution, commissioner Adam Silver shared that there is no guarantee regarding the player’s safety. The league has approached the situation as carefully as possible and has always considered everyone’s health as the main priority.

As reported by Haynes, the decision of the players holds weight on the direction of the league on whether or not to continue with the season or not.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the executives and owners have also grown in confidence regarding the resumption of play.

"Owners and executives on the call were encouraged about the league's progress toward minimizing health risk upon a return and the league office's positive conversations with the National Basketball Players Association about the players' desire to eventually restart the season, sources said," Wojnarowski wrote.

The Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers lead the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively and are among one of the more affected teams in the succeeding developments. It would be interesting to see how the league will respond in the much-awaited resumption of the games.