The NBA announced late last month that it would allow teams located in states where stay-at-home orders have been lifted to open their facilities on May 8.
While the Association did set some strict restrictions, the idea was clear. Give players an ability to train in a less dangerous locations than public gyms.
It doesn’t look like NBA teams are ready to open their facilities just yet. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (h/t Bleacher Report), two teams in states where stay-at-home orders have been lifted will not be opening their facilities on Friday. A third team, Windhorst noted, includes a majority of players who don’t want said facilities to open just yet.
While the NBA insider did not get into specifics, the Atlanta Hawks are already known to be one of those teams. Much to the chagrin of the general public and political leaders, President Donald Trump included, Georgia is now open for business.
More than anything, the NBA is probably going to have to wait until more states open before facilities themselves are used on a widespread basis. It must be more of a league-wide thing than anything else.
Suspended since Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 seven weeks ago, the expectation is that the NBA season will resume at some point this summer. The first step will obviously be getting teams back into their practice facilities. It doesn’t seem the Association is at that point right now.