When the coronavirus hit the United States, the N.B.A. was faced with a unique challenge. It seemed impossible to impose social distancing in basketball, an indoor sport with players almost constantly jostling one another for more than two hours. However, there was a big financial incentive to keep games going: ending the 2019 season early would have cost the league an estimated $1 billion in television revenue.
The solution? A sealed campus for players, staff and selected journalists at Disney World in Florida.
Marc Stein, who covers the N.B.A. for The New York Times, has been living out of a hotel room in the complex for the last 40 days. Today, we speak to him about what life is like inside the bubble.
Guest: Marc Stein, a sports reporter for The New York Times.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily
Background reading:
- Twenty-two of the league’s 30 teams are living in the Disney World complex. Life on the campus is both strange and mundane.
- The N.B.A. has sought to replicate the home-court edge through music, audio cues and graphics from the “home” teams’ arenas.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.