TAMPA, Fla. — The NBA and its teams knew it would be much more difficult to contain the coronavirus outside of the bubble. It would be naive to think otherwise, especially as positivity rates soar around the country.
On Monday, a day after conducting their first full-squad practice, the Toronto Raptors announced that three people within the organization tested positive for COVID-19 during the team's league-mandated testing period prior to training camp.
The Raptors will call the bay area home through at least March 4 — the first half of the NBA season — because Canadian travel restrictions prevent them from playing their home games in Toronto.
The team released a statement Monday saying that all three people who tested positive are self-isolating, and follow-up testing and contact tracing have revealed no spread to other members of the organization.
Raptors general manager Bobby Webster declined to offer specifics on when the positive tests occurred but said the cases were isolated. Head coach Nick Nurse said Sunday that the team held its first practice without any player absences. Webster, citing privacy issues, would not say whether any of those infected were players. He said the Raptors still held practice as usual Monday at Saint Leo University in Pasco County.
"We're confident we can continue with basketball," Webster said. "It's an enormous challenge, it's a logistical challenge, it's a health challenge, it's a human challenge that we're all going through. It's constantly on our mind at the same time we're trying to prepare for an NBA season.
"As I'm sure you know, as most of us are seeing around the sports landscape, you knew this was bound to happen. So, we just wanted to make sure we had, you know, everything kind of tied up and continuing to review, continue to educate, continue to have awareness with our players, coaches and staff on a daily basis."
In the NFL and Major League Baseball before it, coronavirus outbreaks decimated rosters and forced games to be rescheduled. The NBA, however, completed its season without any positive tests after resuming play this past summer in a locked-down bubble at Walt Disney World.
Already, it's a different story this season, with teams scheduled to open play this month in their home cities. The NBA and players union announced last week there were 48 positive tests among the 546 players tested during initial intake testing from Nov. 24-30.
On Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers shut down their facility after three members of the organization tested positive. The Sacramento Kings also reported two positive tests Sunday. Webster said the Raptors' decision to practice Monday was made in conjunction with the team's medical experts, team doctors and the league.
Toronto guard Fred VanVleet said Sunday that while he believes in the NBA's protocols — the league released a comprehensive league memo detailing health and safety regulations — cases will crop up.
"I think the NBA is definitely trying to cover all the bases and make sure that it's a safe environment for us," VanVleet said. "I don't have great expectations about that. I think it's going to be tough to do, but this is what it is and we've got to try to do the best we can."
Included in the protocols: Players are banned from going to clubs and bars, and potential penalties for those who violate protocols include fines, suspensions, loss of draft choices and game forfeitures.
To exit COVID-19 protocol, those who test positive must show two consecutive negative PCR tests within 24 hours or go at least 10 days following their first positive test or onset of symptoms and no longer have a fever for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication.
As in the bubble, all players, staff and team personnel are tested every day. The Raptors are the only NBA team to open its season outside its home city. Their current set up resembles what the team had at Disney They are staying in a hotel near Amalie Arena and a makeshift training facility in the new J.W. Marriott hotel.
"I think the nature of the protocols was to essentially create little bubbles around each team, so to get in the bubble around a team you need to follow a bunch of protocols and continually test negative," Webster said. "So, you know, we're all in the habit of waking up in the morning, going down and getting tested wearing your mask, getting your food to go eat in your room, jumping on a bus being socially distant. I think it's become pretty normal routine for us now."
But knowing they will be spending at least three months — and possibly longer — in Tampa, players are currently looking for residences. Some left their families at home before securing a place to stay. Players said getting their living situation settled is the biggest off-court challenge in relocating.
That in itself exposes them to more in an unfamiliar city. Combine that with the fact that the season is just around the corner — the Raptors' first preseason game is Saturday and the 72-game regular-season starts with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans Dec. 23 at Amalie Arena — and there's even more urgency to contain the virus as best they can.
"There's lots on the line if you're not doing the best you can with the COVID-19 protocol," Nurse said Sunday. "I'm in front of them a few times a day, and my job is to not only sprinkle in those reminders but to make it a part of what we're doing. Even if the message is often, it still needs to be done often loud and clear."
