How long will the suspension last?
When it comes to the NBA, one of the questions that will likely be at the forefront of the minds of many fans will be just how long is this suspension going to last?
Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to that as that eventuality will be entirely dependent on the COVID-19 crisis around the world easing up significantly, if not in fact dissipating entirely in the U.S.
Reporting on the potential timelines from an NBA perspective, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst outlined:
"“The regular-season stoppage will be at least two weeks so all players affected can go through quarantine and, one hopes, be cleared of the virus. In reality, it probably will be longer. By comparison, when the virus broke out in China, the Chinese Basketball Association suspended play in late January. The CBA is in the process of resuming play in early April, roughly a 10-week layoff.”"
As noted, the two-week period relates to the timeline that is considered as the minimum for self-isolation and quarantine purposes, as well as the timeframe where those infected with mild symptoms may start to see the virus subside.
In reality, though, as there’s a real prospect that a wider spread of cases could develop over the coming weeks, it seems realistic that we have yet to reach the kind of peak from which any kind of sense of when normal events, such as NBA games, could be expected to resume. The 10-week break that was required in China may well prove to be necessary in the NBA too.
In other words, the answer to this question is very much TBD.