For at least the third time, the Chinese government has told the Chinese Basketball Association and other sports in the country that they will have to push back their desired start date, according to a new report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Windhorst had previously reported that the league was aiming for a May 1 restart in a couple of designated central locations, but that plan is being pushed back at least a couple of weeks, according to documents obtained by ESPN. This would suggest that any hopes of the sports world resuming is going to be a lot longer than previously expected. In addition to the news from China, the City of Toronto banned all events through June 30.
It’s unclear how much this news will impact the NBA and their attempts to salvage the season, which may include an NCAA-style 16-team tournament and play-in games to help determine the rest of the field. However, all of that is a long way off.
Although LeBron James and the Lakers have been cleared from quarantine, much of the rest of the country, as well as the world, is far behind from making such things a reality.
