LeBron James, Steph Curry and other top NBA players formed a united front to resume the 2019-2020 season, according to Yahoo Sports. The players were on a private conference call Monday and agreed to take the court with proper safety measures once the league is given the okay to resume. Other than James and Curry, the players on the call were Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, who is the president of the players association.
This comes on the heels of NBA commissioner Adam Silver having a conference call with the players on Friday. He told them the league would do everything it can to make the players safe if they can return to action. However, Silver also said he couldn’t guarantee the safety of the players if play resumed in a city still impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Haynes reported what Silver said didn’t sit well with some players because a vaccine won’t be available to the public for at least another year. Silver said a decision on continuing the season could be made sometime next month.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I can have some satisfaction on what our team has been able to do this year (with) a first-year coach, first-year system, a whole new coaching staff, bringing on so many new pieces to our team this year,” James said during a conference call with reporters in April. “(But) I don’t think I’ll be able to have any closure if we do not have an opportunity to finish this season.” James has been adamant about getting back on the court. The Lakers are in first place in the Western Conference and looked poised to win an NBA title. One of the things that could happen is if the NBA resumes play, the top eight teams from each conference could go at it and playoffs would begin right away. The NBA suspended the season on March 11 when Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. When the league suspended play, there was one month of regular-season games remaining.
“Of course the issue becomes now, what we determined today, is that this hiatus will be most likely at least 30 days,” Silver said in a statement to fans back in March. “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.”
