LeBron James & Steph Curry Eager To Play Basketball Again, Even Without Fans: They ‘Can’t Wait’ Anymore
The NBA season was put on an indefinite hold on March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now superstars LeBron James and Steph Curry are jonesing to compete again, even with no fans in the stands.
March 11, 2020 was a turbulent day in the NBA. With the coronavirus outbreak, the league was debating continuing the season without fans in the stands. Until Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the COVID-19 virus later that day, causing the NBA season to be suspended indefinitely. Now that quarantine measures have been put in place for over a month in California, superstars like the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, 32, are willing to do what it takes to get the NBA’s season back on track again, but only in a safe manner. Especially Bron, 35, as his Lakers are sitting in first place atop the Western Conference and had yet another NBA championship in their sights.
“LeBron at first didn’t want to play without fans, but that has 100% changed now that the virus is so much more than he originally thought. He wants to get back on the court. But as the unofficial ambassador of the NBA, he wants it done right. It is a week by week monitoring situation, but he wants to finish this season and start next season on time,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.
“He really wants to get back on the court. He knows he has only a few more years in the NBA, so he wants to be there and win more championships. Basketball is his life, and being away from it all has really been getting to him. He can’t wait to be back,” our insider continues. While he’s been having fun doing TikTok videos with his family while in quarantine and even shaved off his full beard that made him look so fearsome, Bron just wants his competitive NBA court time back. But in a way safe for everyone involved.
Steph had been out with a badly broken left hand since Nov. 2019, which required surgery, and there was much speculation that he might not return for the Warriors 2020 season. Without him, the 2015, 2017 and 2018 NBA champs are in last place in the Western Conference with a 15-50 record and no hopes of reaching the playoffs. But there was still a month’s worth of games to be played when the league suspended action in March, allowing Steph more recovery time in quarantine with his family.
“Steph is getting healthier and healthier through all of this and though the Warriors season has been a bit of a bust, he wants to get back on the court. He feels good, he wants to be out there and if it is in front of no one that is fine. He is looking forward to doing anything needed with testing to move forward,” our source explains.
“The NBA was the first sport to stop so everyone is looking at them to start again. And once they do, Steph is chomping at the bit to get back on the court. He really can’t wait, but like everyone else he doesn’t know when and if that will happen. It’s stressful, but the time off to regenerate is helping. But his mind is racing at the same time because he wants to play,” our insider adds.
If the league starts up again, there are questions about the amount of practice time needed to get the athletes back in pro-shape again. There’s also the matter of where games would be played, due to travel between states that are on lockdown and states that will be slowly reopening. Players would need to be tested before games to insure they are not positive for the coronavirus. There would likely be no fans in attendance as most states have banned gatherings of more than 10 people. The league had just over a month of regularly scheduled games that could be scrapped, and just go straight to a playoffs formula in June or July. But all of those matters are still up in the air, as long as so many states are still under the coronavirus lockdown.