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A couple of days after Rudy Gobert mocked concern over the coronavirus by making a point of running his hands over reporters’ recorders and microphones, the Utah Jazz big man tested positive for COVID-19 prompting the NBA to suspend the season on Wednesday, March 11.

NBA CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

Currently, the NBA commissioner Adam Silver and owners have agreed to wait 30 days to reassess the situation to see if there is a chance of salvaging the 2019-20 season or if it will need to be cancelled. Playing games as late as July or early August has not been ruled out.

Coronavirus is impacting the sporting world including NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL and more

At least a couple of teams wasted no time taking to the world of virtual sports to fill the vacuum created by the absence of real-life games. The Phoenix Suns came up with the idea of contesting their games via NBA 2K20 and took on the Dallas Mavericks in a Twitch broadcast.

Luka Doncic scored 50 points to lead the Mavericks to a 150-136 victory, which may lead the Suns to reconsider their video-game strategy moving forward.

On March 14, Detroit Pistons Christian Wood become the third NBA player (along with Gobert and Mitchell to test positive for coronavirus.

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NBA stars, commentators and fans took to social media to express their feelings regarding the sudden, shocking interruption in play. Notably, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love pledged $100,000 to help tide over arena workers affected by the shutdown, prompting Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson, Blake Griffin, Steph Curry, Gobert and others to follow suit.