The Bahamas may host NBA basketball matches to help finish the 2019-20 season, which is on hold due to the Coronavirus crisis.
The National Basketball Association is considering options to swiftly and safely finish the season once it is able to do so.
One of the ideas put forward is for all teams to stay and play in a central location – with The Bahamas, one of the main options, according to reports by sports broadcaster, ESPN.
The Atlantis resort’s Imperial Ballroom could be the answer, as it already hosts the annual Battle 4 Atlantis, early-season college basketball tournament. The Miami Heat has also used it as a training camp.
The venue would allow National Basketball Association teams to live, work, eat, and play under one room, thus minimizing exposure to the Coronavirus.
Another option is the Baha Mar Resort convention center ballroom, which has also been converted into a regulation court for top-flight college basketball with the Bahamas Hoopfest. Also, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets have practiced there.
A third option could be the Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium in Nassau, which is the venue for the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s Summer of Thunder Series.
The NBA season was suspended in March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
The idea of a separate, all-inclusive venue to finish the National Basketball Association season has been suggested after the Chinese Basketball Association floated the idea of every team playing games in just one or two cities, to aid quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Bahamas already has a strong love for and connection with the NBA, including our born and bred #1 Draft Pick in 1978, Michael “Sweet Bells” Thompson and our two current superstars in the NBA – Deandre Ayton, from the Phoenix Suns, and Buddy Hield, of the Sacramento Kings.
Michael Jordan kicked off the Ocean Club Estates development in 2000 with the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, which attracted NBA superstars, Julius Irving and Charles Barkley, and other sports legends, including Wayne Gretzky and Drew Brees.
The Bahamas has been a top vacation spot for sports celebrities because of our proximity to the US, beautiful beaches, friendly culture, and top resort properties like Baha Mar, Albany, and Atlantis.
