Georges Niang initially thought the Thunder backed out of a pivotal game. With rumors circulating that Rudy Gobert had coronavirus after he missed shootaround that morning. The team speculated, but still didn\u2019t believe what happened.<\/p>\n
Officials in suits darted out of the locker room after the national anthem and starting lineup announcements. Niang couldn\u2019t believe it. Before a critical game between the four and five seeds in the western conference, he believed Oklahoma City used COVID as an excuse to not play. Instead, within moments, the entire NBA shut down for over three months.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThen they send us back to the locker room and I was like, this has never happened in the game of basketball for me,\u201d Niang said. \u201cSo I knew this couldn\u2019t be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the NBA prepares to return teams to their cities and outline a plan to resume play in one or two isolated cities, Niang joined Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman\u2019s CLNS Media podcast to remember the day this shutdown began.<\/a><\/p>\n Niang described mayhem in the locker room when head coach Quin Snyder announced that Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. Jordan Clarkson had assumed as much when he heard his tests for other conditions like the flu returned negative. Niang and Bojan Bogdanovic stared at each other wondering if they had it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of like being trapped in your own mind,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were stuck in that locker room for six hours. People were saying we\u2019re going to get you to a hotel to get tested, but we know between us, what hotel is going to take 53 potential coronavirus hosts?\u201d<\/p>\n The questions raced as phones rang repeatedly. Some phoned private jet companies. Finally, tests arrived before 2 a.m. and a Residence Inn took the team.<\/p>\n