One of the issues that has been most important to NBA players with regard to the return-to-play plan at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, was if and when family members and guests would be permitted to enter the bubble.
For the two teams who that it to the NBA Finals, they will spend over three months at Disney World, and not being able to have guests may have been a dealbreaker. The NBA relayed that wouldn’t be the case and have since gone into some detail about what the guest policy will entail.
And while nothing was concrete, it was reported around that three guests per person would be the limit with some exceptions. Now, the NBA has provided a set of guidelines for guests, and when they will be invited to Orlando.
There are four main policies that will be enforced, with the main one being that teams will get one hotel room per player they bring that can be used for guests, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic:
– Each team that advances past the first round of the playoffs will be permitted to reserve up to 17 (if the team brings 17 players and down to 15 if it brings only 15 players) guest rooms for guests of players on the NBA Campus.
– Players are responsible for the cost of each hotel room used for a player guest; the costs of meals and testing for Player Guests will not be charged to players.
– All player guests must undergo 3 days of self-quarantine and testing either in a house or hotel in the team’s home market or in Orlando outside of the NBA Campus.
– Player guests who leave the NBA Campus will not be permitted to return.
Using the tentative schedule the NBA has provided, it appears guests will be able to join at the end of August when the second round of the playoffs begin. The eight teams that make it that far will have one room per player to bring immediate family members.
This still means that some players will go nearly two months without their families. Teams will be arriving in Orlando from July 7-9, but will not see their families for another six weeks.
In addition, the rules are more strict for guests than players, as they will need to undergo three days of quarantine and will not be allowed to return if they need to leave.
While this isn’t a perfect situation, it does prevent overcrowding within the bubble and still allows for families to join for those who make it far enough in the playoffs.
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