The problem with bubbles is that they can still burst. For the time being, that built by the NBA in Orlando, by privatizing entire sections of the Walt Disney World Resort, is holding up. Since the arrival of the first players on July 7, only two cases of Covid-19 have been identified. Signs much more encouraging than those sent by the football league (MLS), organizer of a tournament in the same place.
But we are only at the beginning of the story and it is supposed to last three months. Twenty-two NBA teams have gathered in Florida, a major epidemic center, to untie the threads of a season that was interrupted in March. Training matches will resume on Wednesday between teams residing in the same hotel, while the official return to competition is set for July 30, still behind closed doors, with eight games determining playoff positions (beginning August 17).
“It reminds me of the routine of the France team”
The enterprise is colossal: three rooms made available for the competition, 350 players supported, not counting the coaches and staff of the franchises, for an estimated invoice of 170 million dollars. More than the marvelous world of Mickey, everyone thus discovers a collective life of cloistered athlete, when that of NBA basketball player is made of frantic roaming. Once there, it was first necessary to go through thirty-six hours of quarantine in a room, marked by two tests, before immersing yourself in a group atmosphere. Tests which remain daily and are added to the wearing of a connected bracelet making it possible to recall a breach of protocol as well as to open the door of one’s room.
Contravening the directives, laid down in a 113-page guide, can theoretically lead to exfiltration. Guilty of having left the authorized zone to receive a delivery of meals, Richaun Holmes (Sacramento) was left for a ten-day quarantine rab. Violations can also be reported via an anonymous hotline, a process deemed “mean” by Rudy Gobert (Utah), an official zero patient in the league. As for the rare complaints relating to the standing of the rooms or the food trays, they have little bearing on the pleasure of reunion. “The apartment in which I lived in Greece with my four brothers was much smaller than my suite here, immediately posed Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), best player in 2019. So I’m just trying to appreciate the moment present. ” Some teams have also hung family photos on the walls of their collective room, to soften the uprooting while waiting for guests to enter the enclosure, from August 30.
Lodged with the Boston Celtics at the Gran Destino Tower, one of the three resort poles, Vincent Poirier sees parallels with the summer campaigns of the French team. “Between the trips from the hotel to the training ground, the bodybuilding, the dining room and not necessarily much else to do, it reminds me a little of this routine, emits the pivot. make our lives pleasant. Lots of small gifts were waiting for us in the room: iPad keyboard, streaming key, our favorite snacks… “A player from Houston took a 2-meter-long TV; the Toronto coach, his guitar. He came with his full video game gear: “We are here for a while, so we might as well feel at home.” At home, he will be allowed to drop by in September for the birth of his daughter.
On the jersey, a social message of your choice
Once out of their hotel, prohibited to the handful of reporters present in the area, players lend themselves to small challenges by fishing in the local lakes, playing golf, dominoes or table tennis (double is prohibited) on tables with NBA logo. A playful side which cannot make us forget that serious things are approaching, and even less that they are part of a heavy context.
The reawakening of racial tensions linked to police violence has fueled the debate, with players questioning the merits of a recovery and the message conveyed. In agreement with their union (NBPA), a solution was found: the name on the jersey can be replaced by a mention for social purposes, from a list of 29. On the French side, we opted for “Justice” (Fournier , Orlando), “Equality” (Gobert and Poirier), “Vote” (Mahinmi, Washington) and “Liberty” (Luwawu-Cabarrot, Brooklyn). The defending champion Toronto Raptors led the way by entering the bubble with two dark buses crossed out with the standard message “Black Lives Matter”.
–
