Death, coronavirus ... the NBA black season

Text by: François-Damien Bourgery Follow

Tensions with China, deaths of its former boss David Stern and the legend Kobe Bryant, coronavirus ... The NBA is living one of its worst seasons on the extra-sport level.

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In the NBA archives, the 2019-2020 season can prepare to be ranked among those to forget, as the North American basketball league accumulates setbacks. " We have to cancel this year 2020, " claims Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Twitter squarely. Last episode to date: the suspension of matches after the French Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. His friend from Orlando Magics Evan Fournier quickly reassured: “ I had Rudy Gobert on the phone, he's fine !! Let’s not panic. Since then, a second case of coronavirus has been diagnosed in the Salt Lake City franchise. According to sources on the American television network ESPN, he is the star point guard Donovan Mitchell .

On Wednesday, as the pandemic continued to progress with more than 1,100 cases identified in the United States, the NBA had first considered relocating meetings in cities untouched by the coronavirus, or having them play behind closed doors. It is this last scenario that the Golden State Warriors had retained for their match of Thursday against Brooklyn, after the city of San Francisco prohibited the gatherings of more than 1000 people. Already on Tuesday, the California franchise had played in an almost empty room, with information boards advising access to people with symptoms of coronavirus.

Huge financial stakes

But when the test result on Rudy Gobert was announced, the reaction was immediate and radical. All meetings were suspended for an indefinite period, starting with the one that the Jazz were preparing to compete against Oklahoma City. Players on the team and those they have faced over the past ten days, as well as journalists who have followed the Salt Lake City franchise, have been placed in quarantine. " The suspension should last a week, the time to test all the players and their entourage, " predicts NBA specialist journalist George Eddy.

“ It's a situation where we have to be smart in how we react. It's not basketball, it's people's lives at stake, "reacted Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, adding that he would try to find an arrangement with the NBA so that he could continue to pay. its employees despite this temporary suspension.

Because the financial stakes are enormous. Each home game brings millions of dollars in revenue to the franchise. For Golden State, they amount to $ 3 million. So much shortfall if the matches are contested behind closed doors. But a definitive or even prolonged suspension would be far more serious for the NBA, because it is his TV contract that could be renegotiated. With fees estimated at 2.7 billion euros per year, the rating could be high. “ The NBA finds itself in the same situation as many companies in the world with regard to the coronavirus. But its colossal reserves of money make it much more apt to collect than SMEs, “tempers journalist George Eddy.

Annus horribilis

For the NBA, the black series started before the regular season even started with a controversy with China, its first market after the United States. In question, a tweet published by the general manager of the Houston Rockets in support of the pro-democracy demonstrators of Hong Kong. This message is causing the fury of hundreds of millions of Chinese basketball fans. Saying at first deeply disappointed by these " inappropriate " remarks, the North American basketball league then declares that it will not apologize and will continue to support " freedom of expression ".

China reacts immediately. Several large Canadian companies suddenly cut their business ties to the NBA, and the public television channel CCTV stops broadcasting North American basketball games . Five months later, it has still not resumed. " The extent of the shortfall will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, probably less than 400 million, " said NBA boss Adam Silver in February.

Then comes the death of former commisioner David Stern, the man who revolutionized the NBA and globalized basketball. " Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today. […] Without him, I would not have arrived where I am, “says Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Three weeks later, thunderclap: Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident at the age of 41. The basketball world is in mourning. Virtuoso, charismatic, the former star of the Lakers was one of the greatest ambassadors of basketball internationally. Images show a dazed LeBron James wandering on an airport tarmac. “ For NBA players, it was a shock. Especially since everyone could identify. They take the plane, the helicopter all the time. It sent everyone back to their own fragility, ”interprets George Eddy.

The NBA has never known such a season. Except maybe in 1999. In January of that year, Michael Jordan announced his second retirement. The end of an era. " It left a big void, as he embodied basketball in the 1990s. The NBA struggled to bounce back, " recalls George Eddy. The more so as the league is paralyzed by a strike of the players which prevents the holding of the traditional all-star game, the flagship event of the season. Even the final between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks does not arouse enthusiasm.

This year, on the contrary, everything was going well in sport. Admittedly, major players were still far from the floors after injuries they contracted last season. But in the minds of the fans, other stars had replaced them and allowed their teams to chain the victories. A young generation was asserting itself. What hope for a successful 2020-2021 season. Provided that no misfortune comes to taint it.

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