The NBA season came to a halt on March 11th, 2020. That was the day that Rudy Gobert, Utah All-Star Centre, tested positive for COVID-19 just after joking about the virus at a press conference. If you don’t remember here is a reminder:

The joke soon became a nightmare for both Rudy Gobert and the NBA. It resulted in the NBA being suspended and over three months later we are yet to see another game. There is hope though, with the NBA announcing the season will (hopefully) commence again in July at Disney’s 220 acre complex in Orlando.  

To help you stay across the game in the lead up to the season restart, we will be releasing a weekly summary of top NBA news.

NBA Beef? Fournier Takes Aim at Bertans

Wizards forward Davis Bertans has made the decision to sit out the NBA restart, much to the disappointment of Orlando’s Evan Fournier. The Wizards are a long shot to make the playoffs and Bertans is also entering unrestricted free agency. Looking to maximise his next contract, Bertans isn’t looking to take the risk of injuring himself in what would most likely be eight games. 

Fournier is not a fan. Whose side are you taking?

The NBA Schedule is Out

Shams Charania, NBA reporter for The Athletic, recently outlined the plan for the NBA restart via Twitter.

We now know the complete schedule of all the seeding games and kicking off the schedule on July 30th are two massive games (Jazz vs. Pelicans and Clippers vs. Lakers).

JR Smith Signs With The Lakers

With Avery Bradley pulling out of the NBA restart, the Lakers have been quick to try and fill the void. Who better than JR Smith, one of Lebron’s ex-teammates. It has been reported that the deal will be finalised soon.

JR Smith hasn’t played since he was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers that lost to the Golden Stae Warriors in the 2018 finals.

Could this be Smith’s chance for redemption following his brain fade in Game 1 of those finals?

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The Positive Tests Keep Coming

It has been reported that 16 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the first wave of tests in preparation for the NBA restart. Since then it has been revealed that players including Deandre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Nikola Jokic have tested positive. 

Who will be next and how will this impact the season? 

The loss of one-star player would have a significant impact on the chances of contending teams.

After 22 years, Vince Carter Retires

Lost in this whole COVID-19 NBA saga is the fact that fans will not have a chance to properly farewell Vince Carter. He became the only player to play an NBA game in four different decades and he has also had more teammates than anyone else in NBA history. To be specific, he shared the floor with a total of 261 different teammates.

He will go down as one of the NBA greats but many will remembering him for his dunking ability. He produced one of the greatest performances at the 2000 dunk contest. Pretty much everyone felt like Shaq watching Carter dunk.