Way back on March 11, the 2019-20 NBA season came to an abrupt halt when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. In the time since, there’s been periods of both pessimism and optimism that basketball would return this summer. Even now that the league has formulated a plan to resume the season at Disney World in Orlando with 22 teams, there’s still no guarantee it will all happen.
The virus has shown no signs of slowing down, and, in fact, cases are actually surging in Florida. Health and safety concerns regarding the pandemic, combined with a growing social justice movement and questions about the quarantine situation have raised plenty of questions about whether the NBA will be able to pull this off, and, beyond that, whether it’s even ethical for them to try.
For now, at least, the answer seems to be that they’re forging ahead. In late June, players returned to team facilities for workouts, and teams started testing for COVID-19. That process has already turned up dozens of positive tests, including Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan, Malcolm Brogdon, Jabari Parker and a number of unnamed players.
As this process continues to unfold, there will likely be even more NBA players and team members who test positive for the coronavirus, because it is unfortunately extremely contagious. Below is a list of players and figures from around the league who have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 to this point:
Members of NBA who tested positive for coronavirus
- Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets — Diagnosis announced on July 13
- Gary Payton Jr., Washington Wizards — Diagnosis reported on July 9
- Thomas Bryant, Washington Wizards — Diagnosis reported on July 9
- Taurean Prince, Brooklyn Nets — Diagnosis reported on July 7
- Landry Shamet, Los Angeles Clippers — Diagnosis reported on July 4
- Three unnamed players, Miami Heat — Diagnoses reported on July 3, 4
- Three unnamed players, New Orleans Pelicans — Diagnosis announced on June 30
- DeAndre Jordan, Brooklyn Nets — Diagnosis announced on June 29
- Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets — Diagnosis announced on June 29
- Derrick Jones Jr., Miami Heat — Diagnosis reported on June 25
- Alex Len, Sacramento Kings — Diagnosis reported on June 24
- Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings — Diagnosis reported on June 24
- Jabari Parker, Sacramento Kings — Diagnosis announced on June 24
- Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers — Diagnosis announced on June 24
- Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets — Diagnosis reported on June 23
- Two unnamed players, Phoenix Suns — Diagnosis reported on June 23
- Four unnamed players, unnamed Western Conference team — Diagnosis reported on June 23
- Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets coach — Diagnosis and recovery announced on June 15
- James Dolan, New York Knicks owner — Diagnosis announced March 28 (Update: cleared on April 22)
- Two unnamed players, Los Angeles Lakers — Diagnosis reported on March 19 (Update: Players symptom-free on March 31)
- Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics — Diagnosis announced on March 19 (Update: cleared on March 30)
- Three unnamed members of organization, Philadelphia 76ers — Diagnosis announced on March 19
- Kevin Durant, three unnamed teammates, Brooklyn Nets — Diagnosis announced on March 17 (Update: All four symptom-free on April 1)
- Christian Wood, Detroit Pistons — Diagnosis announced on March 14 (Update: “Fully recovered,” per agent on March 26)
- Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz — Diagnosis announced on March 12 (Update: cleared on March 27)
- Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz — Diagnosis announced on March 11 (Update: cleared on March 27)
