Shockwaves were sent through the basketball world on Wednesday when the NBA announced that the 2019-20 season is being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak. In addition, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, which led to Wednesday's Jazz-Thunder game being abruptly cancelled.
This is obviously unfamiliar territory for everyone and many were shocked by the NBA's decision to suspend the season. In a statement, the NBA says it will "use this hiatus to determine the next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic."
Following the NBA's announcement, many players took to social media to express their opinions on the season being suspended. Many shared the same sentiments and understand that it's about the safety of everyone involved.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and many others tweeted out their thoughts on the NBA season being postponed.
Isaiah Thomas gave a shoutout to Mark Cuban for how he has handled everything.
One of the rare real-time reactions was that of Phoenix Suns star guard Devin Booker, who was playing video games on the streaming platform Twitch when he found out that the season was being suspended and he dropped a few (NSFW) expletives as he was in a state of shock.
Booker logged off of Twitch shortly after hearing the news.
One of the more sobering moments actually took place before the NBA officially made the suspension announcement. Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was doing a live stream on Instagram and spoke about the impact that the coronavirus is having around the world.
"This is urgent," Brown said. "The way they stop viruses is by shutting things down."
Just minutes after Brown conducted the live stream, the NBA's announcement came down.
No one truly knows how long the NBA season will be put on hold or if it will even return at some point this year. Right now, everyone's safety is the top priority.