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Leagues and Governing Bodies

The Eight People Who Helped Make The NBA Bubble A Success

Not only was the NBA bubble a "success," it was a "model for operating a safe and healthy environment that mitigated the spread of COVID-19 through daily testing, social distancing, mask-wearing and contact tracing," according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. Zillgitt lists "eight people who played a significant role" in the bubble's success:

  • NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, though he "initially resisted the idea of a bubble." He said, "When the idea was first broached, it didn’t sound logistically realistic." But he "warmed to the idea" when Disney properties near Orlando "emerged as a possibility." Silver: "We didn’t want to turn this into a fortress."
  • NBA Exec VP/Global Events Kelly Flatow, who "built a basketball city."
  • NBA Senior VP/Player Matters David Weiss, who, with the the NBA’s medical team, "put together health and safety protocols -- a 108-page document." Weiss said, "The first challenge was thinking of all of the challenges."
  • Magic CEO Alex Martins, who has a business and "personal relationship" with Disney. When talk of the bubble began, Martins, a member of the league’s restart committee, "heard Houston, Las Vegas and even the Bahamas as possible sites." He called Silver and said, “‘You are thinking about Orlando, aren’t you?’"
  • NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell, who, with his staff, were "responsible for creating a game schedule, a practice schedule and referee schedule and conducting a walk-through of the arena before every game."
  • Mavericks F Dwight Powell, though injured and not playing, "gave strong opinions on what players needed on campus to make it work, what location would work best and what a schedule would look like."
  • NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts, who said, "Living in the same space, you do run into [players] -- at the restaurant, going to get tested, at the pool. All these amazing opportunities presented themselves and I found myself enjoying it."
  • Kelly King, the concierge for ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, a business with more than 123 stores in Florida. She was "responsible for providing alcohol to bubble-dwellers." Her service "was necessary" (USA TODAY, 10/14).

BACK IN THE BUBBLE? In S.F., Bruce Jenkins notes the NBA "fully expects the pandemic to be a significant obstacle whenever next season begins." Players who "experienced the Orlando experiment aren’t about to accept an 82-game season in that climate." There has been talk of "four separate bubbles, including Orlando and Las Vegas," with "two- or three-week breaks allowing players to connect with family and friends." One "ray of hope" is the way Roberts "works so smoothly" with Silver and key members of the NBPA. Negotiations "figure to be calm and progressive" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/14). In Toronto, Scott Stinson writes the NBA’s "extraordinarily expensive" bubble "succeeded." The NBA and NHL bubbles, and "all of their limitations, worked," but that "doesn’t mean the NHL or NBA are particularly anxious to do them all over again" (TORONTO SUN, 10/14).

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