Miami (AFP)
NBA players started arriving in Orlando, Florida on the eve of the start of training camp for the resumption of the championship on July 30 in the "bubble" of Disney World, in a context of resurgence of coronavirus in the USA.
On site, each player undergoes a screening test upon arrival in the specially equipped quarantine zone, even though Florida has become one of the main centers of coronavirus in the United States.
They will then have to take a new test at least 24 hours later to be allowed to access, in particular, the hotel restaurants.
The teams will start training after quarantine.
In the meantime, the meal trays served to players, in the style of those served on airplanes, have already aroused mixed opinions, as the 22 teams are preparing to restart a season interrupted on March 11 by the pandemic after the Frenchman Utah Jazz Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19.
"No chance Bron will eat that. LOL," tweeted Los Angeles Clippers point guard Isaiah Thomas, who imagines Lakers superstar LeBron James getting a much better menu when he arrives with his team on Thursday.
"The food is actually much better than I feared," said Orlando Magic Frenchman Evan Fournier, also on Twitter, where he even offered a quick tour of his hotel room.
This solution to resume the championship in a "protected area" is far from unanimous among the players. "I don't like the idea, I still don't trust it," said Joel Embiid, star of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Cameroonian pivot even considered not playing but ultimately chose not to drop his teammates in their quest for an NBA title.
© 2020 AFP