NBA issues guidelines to teams competing in Orlando

The NBA has sent its teams a list of elements and logistics of the 2019-20 season restart at Disney’s hotels and its ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., (the “NBA Campus at Disney”). The NBA last played on March 11 before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.

The Sixers are among the 22 teams invited to Orlando. The field includes the teams currently occupying the top eight seeds in each conference and six other teams that are within six games of the eighth and final playoff berth.

The Inquirer has obtained a copy of the memo and here are some of the key elements:

Travel party. Each basketball team’s travel party will consist of up to 35 team and staff members, including players, coaches, front-office executives, and others. Teams will travel to Disney on either July 7, 8, or 9 depending on the specific travel schedule for each team. Teams are able to carry a minimum of 13 and a maximum of 17 players from the team’s roster. As a general rule, a player must accompany his team when the team first travels to the NBA Campus at Disney on the date specified by the NBA in accordance with the health and safety protocols.

Any player who, either at the team’s or player’s election, does not accompany his team to the NBA Campus at Disney will be prohibited from later joining the team and will be ineligible to participate in the 2019-20 season restart on the NBA Campus at Disney; provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply if (i) there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., need to receive team-directed medical care, birth of a child, severe illness or death in the family) previously disclosed to, and approved by, the team and the NBA, (ii) the player does not meet the criteria for traveling with the team set forth in the health and safety protocols, or (iii) the player is signed to a contract by the team on or after July 1, 2020; and, in each case, the player travels to the NBA Campus at Disney as soon as is practicable in accordance with the health and safety protocols.

Hotels. Teams will stay at one of three deluxe hotels on the NBA Campus at Disney: Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Grand Floridian, or Yacht Club. The Sixers have been assigned to stay at the Grand Floridian.

Practice facilities. Teams will conduct basketball and training activities at one of seven practice facilities, each of which will include a practice court (with four baskets), weight room, and training room. Each team will have access to one practice facility for one three-hour time block each day, as scheduled by the NBA’s Basketball Operations Department. The practice facilities will be closed for cleaning for one hour between the end of one team’s practice and the beginning of the next team’s practice.

Open gyms. Players will have access to two “open gyms” to shoot or work on their individual skills, subject to scheduling and health-related cleaning protocols.

Training rooms. Each team will have its own training room to provide players with customary pre- and post-practice opportunities for stretching and treatment, rehabilitation activities, and physical therapy.

Meeting Room. Teams will be able to hold team meetings and video sessions in a meeting room fitted with approximately 25 chairs, a screen/monitor, LCD projector, laptop connector cables, and one whiteboard with markers. The meeting room also will serve as one of the locations where players and staff can eat meals.

Flex Space. Teams will be able to use the flex space at their discretion to, among other things, conduct team or staff meetings, provide “grab-and-go” meals and snacks, and offer additional socializing and storage space to players and team personnel.

The memo says that the NBA and the Players Association are finalizing a complete set of health and safety protocols.

The health and safety protocols will include the following:

Coronavirus Testing. All players and league and team staff residing on the NBA Campus at Disney will be part of a regular testing program. (The testing program will not be based on the use of deep nasal swabs.)

Arrival Quarantine. Upon arriving at the NBA Campus at Disney, all team staff and players will have an in-room quarantine of approximately 36 hours (while two coronavirus tests taken at least 24 hours apart are processed).

Physical Distancing. All individuals residing on the NBA Campus at Disney will be required to maintain at least six feet of distance during social activities.

Face Coverings. All individuals on the NBA Campus at Disney will be required to wear face coverings at all times except (i) during meals, (ii) in individual rooms, (iii) when outside and more than six feet from another person, or (iv) in the case of players, first row coaches, and referees, when engaged in basketball-related or other training activities.

Sleeping Rooms. All individuals residing on the NBA Campus at Disney will be prohibited from entering another person’s sleeping room due to limited space, a smaller volume of air, and less frequent cleaning.

Medical Clinic. The NBA will work with outside health-care companies to provide a medical clinic on the NBA Campus at Disney, which will include X-ray and MRI machines.