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2020 NBA Bubble

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2020 NBA Bubble

The 2020 NBA Bubble was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its players from the COVID-19 pandemic during the final eight games of the 2019–20 regular season and throughout the 2020 NBA playoffs. 22 out of the 30 NBA teams were invited to participate (the other eight had been eliminated from playoff contention) with games being held behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the teams staying at makeshift Disney World hotels.

The bubble was a $190 million investment by the NBA to protect its 2019–20 season, which was initially suspended by the pandemic on March 11, 2020. The bubble recouped an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue. In June, the NBA approved the plan to resume the season at Disney World, inviting the 22 teams that were within six games of a playoff spot when the season was suspended. The plan initially received a mixed reaction from players and coaches.

After playing three exhibition scrimmages inside the bubble in late July, the invited teams played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding. The playoffs began on August 17, and the NBA Finals began on September 30. During the playoffs, there were additional delays to the season prompted by activism related to the shooting of Jacob Blake. The season ended on October 11 when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in six games. From the start of the resumed 2019–20 season until the end of the NBA Finals, the NBA ended with no recorded cases of COVID-19 for the teams participating in the bubble.

The NBA Bubble in some form has been made into a contingency plan for the NBA in future pandemics or major disease outbreaks.

On March 11, 2020, the NBA announced the suspension of the 2019–20 season following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19 hours before the Jazz road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved 29–1 (with the lone outlier being the Portland Trail Blazers) resuming the 2019–20 season in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World, after prior consideration of Las Vegas and Houston as potential spots. On June 5, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) approved negotiations with the NBA.

Under normal circumstances, the New York Knicks' home arena Madison Square Garden would have lost its New York City tax exemptions as soon as the team started playing home games in the bubble, but the tax agreement includes an act of God clause.

On June 17, 2020, the NBA released a medical protocol to be used during the season restart in the bubble to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, officials, and staff. This protocol included regular testing for COVID-19 prior to and throughout the season restart, wearing a face covering or mask, and physical distancing to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 from occurring. Also, players and coaches deemed "high-risk individuals" by their team, or players who had already suffered season-ending injuries prior to season suspension, would not be permitted to play and would also not lose any salary. Any player medically cleared could also decline to participate but would lose their corresponding paychecks.

The protocol outlined six phases to ensure a smooth transition into the bubble and a successful end to the season:

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