Although the NBA continues to navigate uncharted waters amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), they are in the process of seeking out alternative options to finish out the 2019-20 season.
One of the solutions that have been proposed is having teams play their games in fixed locations with Las Vegas reportedly being the only one considered.
Of course, it remains to be seen just how open the players are to the idea of quarantining themselves for the remainder of the season to play in a venue without any fans. It appears LeBron James sees it as an opportunity for the Los An gales Lakers to finish what they started.
According to Melissa Rohlin of Sports Illustrated, James would be open to the prospect of doing whatever it takes to get back on the court:
“Obviously the number one thing, like I said, is the safety and the well-being of all of us here in America first, and getting this pandemic under control,” James said. “I believe once that’s under control and they allow us to resume some type of activity, I would love to get the season back going. I feel like we’re in a position where we can get back and start to compete for a championship, get back to doing what we love to do, making our Laker faithful proud of us, of being back on the floor. And if it’s in one single isolated destination, if it’s Las Vegas or somewhere else that can hold us and keep us in the best possible chance to be safe, not only on the floor, but also off the floor as well, then those conversations will be had.”
James added that even though Lakers fans may not be in attendance, their support from home will still go a long way in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
“If it comes to a point if we’re playing without our fans, we still know that we have Laker faithful with us in spirit,” James said. “We know they’ll be home cheering us on, online, on their phones, on their tablets watching us playing. So hopefully we can bottle that energy that we know we’re getting from them.”
James made headlines when he declared his distaste with the idea of playing any games without fans in the arena. Of course, that was before there had been major concern about the ensuing, global pandemic that forced the league to cancel their season.
As a result, James has since changed his stance and is open to the league taking any precautions that are deemed necessary in order to resume play. After all, he admits that cancelling the season altogether would leave him without any sense of closure for what the team accomplished.
The NBA still has yet to determine a timetable for a potential return to action and commissioner Adam Silver has indicated that a decision is no expected to come until early May.