OKC Thunder: Bubble experiment working – no positive tests in week 2

The OKC Thunder and peers had no positive COVID-19 tests in the last week of the Disney bubble.

For those concerned about how the NBA bubble experiment would function the league provided news on Monday, July 20th that no positive tests occurred last week. That’s a sign the experiment is working – – at least for the moment.

David Aldridge of the Athletic tweeted out the full press release from the association that stated:

The key points from the announcement are none of the 346 players tested produced a positive result. These test results incorporate all tests administered between the last test announcement of July 13th and today. In the prior week, two players tested positive and were removed.

One of those players was Michael Beasley and we’re unsure of who the second player was. The difference in this period is those players were noted while the players were in quarantine so there was less opportunity for the virus to spread.

In the weeks leading up to the bubble 25 players tested positive. As we now know, Russell Westbrook and Eric Bledsoe were two of those players.

No positive COVID-19 tests in week two

Players are tested daily as are staff members and other NBA staff or media members in the bubble. While Disney staff are not tested there are exceptions such as the bus drivers who transport the players to and from practices.

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Also of note, the league reinforced players would be immediately isolated if they produce a positive result and what isn’t noted is those the player came in contact with would likely be tested immediately.

If that occurs, it will be interesting what other steps the league might take. For example, if player x from team x tests positive would the league suggest the team practice additional social distancing away from other players/teams on that day until they could ensure everyone else is negative too?

Although the NBA did not provide the results for the other people being tested presumably they also all tested negative.

Ultimately, this is great news for Adam Silver and Michelle Roberts who invested all their NBA and NBPA eggs in the Disney bubble. While the state of Florida is now the epicenter (along with California and Texas) of the coronavirus the fact the Disney bubble is virus-free is a resounding success story.

We’ve said all along – the Disney bubble would end up being the safest place for the players to be. For the moment, that turns out to be true. Now let’s hope this can continue with no outside threats bursting the bubble.