Nigeria’s array of players in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA), led by Bam Adebayo at Miami Heat and Victor Oladipo at Indiana Pacers, will turn their focus on May 8 for the restart of action in the high-profile league, following a shift in date by the organsisers, who reckoned that the teams need additional time to get over the ill-effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
This sequel to reports that egg heads in the NBA have pushed back plans that would allow teams to reopen their practice facilities for at least one week, and cautioned that the new target is far from set in stone, in a fresh development that also affects Brooklyn Nets rising star, Spencer Dinwiddie, as well as NBA’s current most valuable player, Nigerian-born Greece international, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) of Milwaukee Bucks.
Also bound to start marking new ideas and plans in their calendars are collegiate kid, Jordan Nwora, who is eagerly seeking a franchise base in the NBA 2020 Draft, as well aa Josh Okogie of Minnesota Timberwolves, Al-Farouq Aminu of Orlando Magic, Chimezie Metu of San Antonio Spurs and Ekpe Udoh of Utah Jazz.
Megasportsarena.com can also report that they will all be amazed with latest reports that revealed the earliest date all teams can reopen for voluntary player workouts is now May 8, but that would only be in places where local and state laws made such a move permissible.
The potential rules changes would allow teams to make their practice facilities available for use by the team’s players for workouts or treatment on a voluntary, individual basis if the team’s facility is in a city that is no longer subject to a government restriction.
The NBA are allowing limited workouts for their players as they aim to resume the season when possible, in select cities from May 8, but any team that is prohibited from having their facility available for use, due to government restriction, the league will help them identify alternatives.
The restrictions that would apply include: No more than four players would be permitted at a facility at any one time; no head or assistant coaches could participate; group activity remains prohibited, including practices or scrimmages; and players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health clubs, fitness centers, or gyms.
The Associated Press reported further that players will have to wear face masks when in the facility, except when they are actually working out, while staff members would have to wear same and gloves at all times.
All the players are now eagerly looking forward to the return of action, almost two months after the NBA suspended the regular season on March 11 and ordered all teams to shut their facilities eight days later, which the league body stated was ‘in light of the rapidly-developing coronavirus situation, and consistent with evolving advice from health experts regarding how to promote individual and public health while minimising the spread of the virus.’
