(Reuters) – Three NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19 including the Sacramento Kings pair of Jabari Parker and Alex Len and Indiana Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon, the league has confirmed.
All three players said on Wednesday they expected to recover in time for the resumption of the league next month.
“Several days ago I tested positive for COVID-19 and immediately self-isolated in Chicago which is where I remain,” Kings forward Parker said in a team statement https://www.nba.com/article/2020/06/25/kings-alex-len-jabari-parker-coronavirus.
“I am progressing in my recovery and feeling well. I look forward to joining my teammates in Orlando as we return to the court for the resumption of the NBA season.”
Centre Len later said in an Instagram post https://www.instagram.com/alexlen_25 that he too had the disease while Brogdon confirmed his positive test in a statement https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1275841891846815747 released by the Pacers on Twitter.
The NBA, season halted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, is set to resume with a tentative July 31 start date, at Disney World in Florida.
The plan would see 22 of the NBA’s 30 teams play eight seeding games to determine a 16-team playoff field that would follow the traditional post-season format with four best-of-seven series that would crown a champion no later than Oct. 12.
The NBA was the first North American sports league to suspend its season after one of its players tested positive in mid-March with five weeks left in the 82-game regular season.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Robert Birsel)
