NBA Says 16 Players Test Positive For COVID-19 Before League’s Return

The NBA says nearly 20 of the 302 players it tested for coronavirus do, in fact, have it … this just 2 weeks before the league is set to kick off its Orlando bubble return.

The Association made the announcement Friday … saying, in total, 16 players’ COVID-19 results came back positive after a round of testing on June 23.

The NBA did NOT reveal which players tested positive — but in the last few days, stars like Jabari Parker and Nikola Jokic had their diagnosis confirmed publicly.

“Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician,” the league said.

It’s a troubling announcement for the NBA … the league is just days away from kicking off training camps in Florida on July 7.

The season, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin just a few weeks after that on July 30.

Several players have already opted out of heading to Orlando over coronavirus concerns … with Mavericks stud Willie Cauley-Stein the latest to pull out this week.

Of course, several other players — including Kyrie Irving and Dwight Howard — have wondered if the league should even try to restart, and instead focus on the ongoing fight for racial justice.

What are your thoughts on the league restarting during the pandemic?