Watch Mark Cuban Find out About NBA Season Suspension Amid Coronavirus Concerns

When the NBA announced the 2020 season is suspended on Wednesday, there were games still being played. The Dallas Mavericks were one of the teams still playing and owner Mark Cuban had a strong reaction to the NBA’s announcement. Cuban was seen nearly jumping out his seat when he saw the news on his phone. He then got out of his seat to show other team officials the news.

Tom Rinaldi of ESPN spoke to Cuban after he heard the news and he said it can’t be real.

“This is crazy. This can’t be true,” he said. “I mean, it’s not within the realm of possibility. It seemed more like out of a movie than reality.”

After the game, Cuban said he will talk to the NBA about what’s next.

“This is not a situation where you fake it ’til you make it or try to sound or act important,” Cuban said. “The NBA has hired people with expertise in those areas and they are working with people from the government and other people with expertise. We have to defer to them and that’s exactly what we will do.”

The NBA announced the suspension shortly after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. Cuban understands what’s going on the world is much bigger than the game.

“It’s stunning, but we are where we are,” Cuban said. “We have to be smart in how we respond. This is people’s lives at stakes. This isn’t about basketball, this isn’t about the Mavericks. This isn’t about when do we start, do we start? Or how do we start? This is a pandemic, a global pandemic where people’s lives are at stake. I’m a lot more worried about my kids and my mom who is 82 years old — in talking to her and telling her to stay in the house — than when we play in our next game.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the season will be suspended at least 30 days and then they will make a decision about the future.

“Of course the issue becomes now, what we determined today, is that this hiatus will be most likely at least 30 days,” Silver said per ESPN. “And we don’t know enough to be more specific than that. But we wanted to give direction to our players and teams and fans that this is going to be roughly at least a month. … But then the question becomes is there a protocol frankly with or without fans in which we can resume play,” Silver continued. “I think the goal [is] … what makes sense here without compromising anyone’s safety. It’s frankly too early to tell.”