Basketball: Tim Reynolds looks back on life in the NBA Covid bubble

The first cases of Covid-19 in the USA were in January 2020 but it wasn't until March 11th that it had a major effect on American sport, specifically the NBA. "I was actually at a game. I was covering a Miami Heat game at American Airlines Arena. It was 4th quarter, and I was starting to write my game story. And we got the call. I actually triple checked to see if this was legitimate, and the call came at 9:30 (Eastern) that night saying 'we're done'. They shut down immediately. It was just so eary. I don't really remember a game not mattering. But the game didn't matter any more. None of us knew how long it was going to last. We all left the arena saying 'See you in a couple of weeks'. We did not know it was going to be 4 and a half months." It was Disney who saved the day, coming to the rescue with a 'Bubble' at Walt Disney World in Orlando. But it took a while for the NBA to come round "It seemed so unfeasible at first. It seemed impossible to think about. There were even people in the League who said this is not going to work And then it took about 5 to 6 weeks. And they got a plan together and this bubble was concocted. Nobody could envisage it, until you got into it. It took them almost two months just to write the protocols. And then itn became time to negotiate with the players to see if the players would agree. They gave every player in the NBA the option to opt out, and a handful did. The talks were almost 24 hours a day and they were seven days a week " The NBA 'Bubble' lasted almost 100 days and was a total success. The nation watched as Lebron James led the LA Lakers to victory "I did not expect the level of basketball to be as good as it was. Guys hadn't played for 4 and a half months. They are away from home, they are away from home, they av re away from their fasmily. The mental drain for a factor for everybody. Just from a personal perspective.