NBA Returns in July

Source: Statista

The month of June is normally scheduled for the NBA Finals, where two final teams meet after a long, hard-fought season to decide on the champion of the league. This June, however, there is no championship – the regular season being suspended back in March due to COVID-19 concerns.

After months of planning and debate, however, the NBA has announced they’ll be continuing the season and diving almost immediately into the playoffs on July 31. Out of the 30 teams in the league, the top 22 from this suspended season will be invited to live and play in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The teams will play 8 seeding games to fill a 16-team playoff bracket, and then playoffs will begin.

Coaches, players and essential staff will be required to quarantine among themselves for the entire duration of the seeding and playoff games. Regular COVID-19 tests will be administered in Orlando living quarters, although specifics haven’t been announced as to what the league will do if (or when) positive cases are discovered. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he’s confident they will have the necessary precautions to ensure teams can continue competing.

The NBA is another global league attempting to reopen amid ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks. The Bundesliga in Germany has resumed league play, using regular testing precautions and virtual crowd noises as they continue to play in empty stadiums. However, other leagues, such as the NHL in the U.S., have canceled the remainder of their seasons and will wait until next year. Baseball and football in the U.S. still have looming questions as to how or if they’ll continue.

NBA Infographic

European Football Returns From Coronavirus Suspension

Source: Statista

Last week was supposed to be a big one for European football (soccer), as the finals of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League were scheduled to take place in Gdansk and Istanbul on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. The latter game in particular, arguably the biggest there is in club football, would have been watched by hundreds of millions of fans around the world, as it traditionally concludes the European football season with a bang.

Not this year though, as the coronavirus pandemic put the brakes on football and all professional sports, halting national competitions as well as European cups in early March. Despite the slight change of plans, last week turned out to be a big one for football fans across Europe, as news emerged that the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A are all readying a return to play over the next few weeks.

Following the lead of the German Bundesliga, which (so far successfully) restarted on May 16, Spain’s La Liga is scheduled to return on June 11, while Italy’s Serie A will return on June 20. American soccer fans might want to mark June 17 on their calendars, as that’s the date for the English Premier League’s return to play after a three-months suspension.

European Football Returns From Coronavirus Suspension