Adam Silver: NBA will have to learn to live with virus; no in-season pause

NBA commissioner Adam Silver answers questions about the recent COVID-19 surge across the league. 

The NBA may be being ravaged by the new, more contagious COVID-19 variant but on Tuesday afternoon NBA commissioner Adam Silver said something that is perhaps slowly becoming evident in the United States – in and out of sports – and around the world.

Living with COVID-19 may be the new normal.

Silver said as much during an interview on ESPN with Malika Andrews in which he echoed two remarks that will garner headlines – that the NBA will need to learn to live with the virus and that there are no in-season pause plans at the moment.

Silver also mentioned that roughly 90 percent of the players testing positive for COVID-19 fall under the new variant.

That’s…a lot to take in. And Silver really didn’t really have many answers for what the logistical next steps are if it gets worse in the league before it gets better – and there’s a good chance that happens.

Though, the expectation is that we will continue to see replacement players signed for teams overwhelmed due to the virus and perhaps the continued possibility of the postponement of games.

Earlier Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced that we could see a chance to the NBA’s Christmas Day slate due to COVID-19. What that could possibly entail, but if there’s one thing that’s become apparent is that the league is going to do all they can to push forward.

I’m not sure where this virus is going to leave the NBA a few weeks or a few months from now, but you’d have to imagine that the NBA is hoping that it’s seeing the worst of the virus spike now.

However, based on how this global pandemic has evolved over the past year and a half, that’s no guarantee.