The NBA is back! But how does it work?
The NBA has been on a 133-day hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made its official return on the 31st of July. The remainder of the season is being played in the NBA Bubble located within Disney World, Orlando. A total of 22 teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets, will face-off inside the bubble in an attempt to complete and conquer the 2019-2020 season.
What is the Bubble?
Players of all participating teams are living in the ‘NBA Bubble’, an isolated complex within the Disney World theme park resort. This tightly controlled environment includes three hotels for players and staff, practice and gym facilities, a barbershop and even a nail salon.
The teams have been in the bubble since the 9th of July with large amounts of screening, testing and isolating of all involved personnel. The organizers have gone above and beyond in terms of precautionary measures with wearable biometric rings being optionally worn by players. These Oura smart rings assist with early detection of infection including the coronavirus, while constantly measuring biometrics such as body temperature, respiration variables and heart rates.
Scrimmages have been played from the 22nd up until now. The regular season begins on Friday with the playoff being from August 17 till October 13.