The NBA season will be played at Walt Disney World. Photo / Getty
The NBA season will be played at Walt Disney World. Photo / Getty
NBA players are set to receive a vacation-like experience at Walt Disney World - where they'll be based to play the upcoming season amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 22 NBA teams playing at Disney World will reportedly be housed in three different resort hotels with access to game rooms, golf courses, cabanas with misters to combat the heat, fishing areas, bowling, backstage tours and salon services.
Disney will also reportedly make movies available for players and their families which are likely to include ones that have not been released to the general public, including Marvel's Black Widow.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Miami Heat will stay at the Gran Destino, which will be considered one of the main hub areas.
The Grand Destino. Photo / Twitter
The Grand Floridian will be home to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards will stay at the Yacht Club.
Each team will have access to a designated Disney culinary team who will help create individualised team menus, support team dietary needs, and ensure health and safety guidelines are followed. Players will receive three meals per day and four meals on game days.
The NBA have described very specific plans to players and teams for the restart, doing so in a memo and handbook. Players were told they will be tested regularly — but not with the deep nasal swabs — and must adhere to strict physical distancing and mask-wearing policies.
Players must tell their teams by June 24 if they intend to play or not, according to a memo sent to NBPA members. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said if a player does not feel comfortable playing at Disney — whether for health reasons or because of social causes facing the US — then he does not have to report with his team and will not be disciplined, other than losing salary for games missed.
Most teams will arrive in Florida between July 7-9. Reigning champion Toronto Raptors, the lone NBA team based outside of the US, will reportedly be permitted to gather for pre-camp workouts under strict guidelines that other teams will follow in their own cities before arriving.
The NBA will work with one or more outside health care companies to provide a medical clinic to prevent players and team staff having to leave the facility. They're also looking to make mental health professionals available for players and coaches, pre-game virtual chapel services, yoga and meditation.
The NBA is planning on games in three arenas during the seeding-game portion of the restart, the ones where each of the 22 teams going to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex will play eight games before the playoffs begin. Teams will be housed in three hotels, with between six and eight teams in each.
Teams can bring up to 35 people as part of the basketball operations group, which includes players, a senior executive, an athletic trainer, a strength and conditioning coach, an equipment manager and security.
