Sixteen NBA players tested positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19, the league mentioned on Friday, a little more than a month before the 2020 season is set to restart in Florida on the same day the state confirmed a record of around 9,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours.
"Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician," the National Basketball Association mentioned in a statement. The 16 positives were among the 302 players tested on June 23. The league did not disclose the players' identities.
NBA Players Test COVID-19 Positive
Jabari Parker and Alex Len of the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers' Malcolm Brogdon were confirmed on Wednesday to have tested positive, though it was not immediately clear when their tests took place.
Kings forward Parker said in a team statement that he had received the diagnosis "several days ago." The NBA and its players' union said on Friday that they had approved plans to resume the season on July 30 at Disney World in Florida.
Under the plan, 22 of the NBA's 30 teams will play eight seeding games to determine a 16-team playoff field that would follow the traditional post-season format and crown a champion in October. Players would be living, practicing, and playing at the Disney resort to minimize the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.
(With agency inputs)
