NBA spokesman Mike Bass has confirmed that the league has entered into talks with Disney to be the sole host of a restarted NBA, with the games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the Walt Disney World Resort property in Orlando.
“The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Association Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing. Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place,” Bass said.
The sports complex is a 255-acre campus with multiple arenas that could host games simultaneously and has been home to, among other things, the Jr. NBA World Championship in recent years. ESPN is primarily owned by Disney, one of the NBA’s broadcast partners.
At the moment it’s unclear if the rest of the regular season would be played or if the league would go right to playoffs.
The NBA was the first major sports league to suspend its season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Since then a number of other NBA players have tested positive, including former league Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets.