With the NBA season now officially on schedule to start on December 22, as trade rumors and free agency rumors begin to swirl around the league, teams across the league also have business decisions to make with regards to whether they will have fans. The NBA gave some guidelines to teams earlier this week on what they expect from teams who do decide to let fans into stadiums for games, however improbable that sounds as coronavirus cases continue to rise across much of the country.
However, some teams in states that have more strict coronavirus regulations are making preemptive announcements that they will not have fans, such as the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers were the second team to announce they will not have fans, as the Portland Trail Blazers announced the same decision earlier on Wednesday. Other teams, such as Oklahoma City, are planning on allowing fans in a “limited” capacity.
The health and safety of our fans, players, staff and community are our main priority and we will continue to work with state and local officials to come up with a plan to safely welcome fans back in adherence with local, State, and NBA guidelines.https://t.co/2DeKDX3yzf
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 12, 2020
Players across the league have expressed their desire to once again play with fans in the stands, but the realities of the coronavirus, even despite this week’s positive news about a vaccine, make it hard to do so safely for all 30 teams.
