NBA commissioner Adam Silver enters the league’s health and safety protocols
With the league’s commissioner now absent from office due to covid-19, it remains unclear as to when he will return and who will give the Larry O’Brien trophy to the winning team.
It would appear that the specter of covid-19 is still looming large as the league’s commissioner has now entered health and safety protocols.
Adam Silver enters NBA’s covid-19 protocols
According to reports on Monday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver entered the league’s health and safety protocols and as a result was a notable absence from Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. It is not clear at this time as to what Silver’s status is, nor for how long he will be absent and unable to fulfill the duties of his office. Further to that the league did not specify if Silver had tested positive for covid-19 or had been deemed a close contact of someone who had. “Lousy timing,” Silver said when referring to his recent and unfortunate diagnosis.
The 2022 NBA playoffs have already been touched by covid-19
Despite a national surge in covid-19 cases, the NBA Finals have so far managed to go ahead without any real issue where the virus is concerned. That being said there have been a handful of high profile cases in recent months which have affected the NBA’s postseason. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr missed three games in Golden State’s second-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies after being placed in protocols. Kerr would finally return just in time for the Western Conference finals to guide the Warriors to victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, announcers Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy both missed Finals games because of COVID-19.
What next for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver?
As mentioned before, it remains unclear as to when Silver will be able to resume his duties which include attending each of the NBA Finals games. Indeed, the commissioner of the league is traditionally charged with handing out the Larry O’Brien trophy to the winning team. In the case of this year’s Finals, with the Warriors currently leading the series 3-2 after their 104-94 win on Monday night that moment could come as soon as Thursday night in Boston, or should the Celtics win it will be on Sunday in San Francisco. That’s to say, the clock is ticking for Silver.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the man who has seen nine NBA Championships as commissioner - he took the post in February of 2014 - has had his activities disrupted by covid-19. One will recall that Silver’s tenure also bore witness to the 2020 season which tipped off inside a bubble that the league created at Walt Disney World in Florida during the initial stages of the pandemic.