Report: NBA Players, Staff Outside the United States Cleared to Return

Blake SchusterCorrespondent IIIMay 27, 2020

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Foreign NBA players who have returned to their home countries since the league's hiatus began on March 11 now have government clearance to come back to the United States.

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The NBA has today notified its teams that players "currently outside the United States" do indeed have government clearance to re-enter the country even if they are traveling from nations under U.S. travel restrictions, league sources say

According to the New York Times' Marc Stein, the authorization includes players who are returning from countries currently facing travel restrictions from the U.S.

While the travel itself is permitted, Stein notes teams must adhere to local, state and federal ordinances when it comes to quarantining and social distancing.

It remains unclear how this would affect players traveling back to Toronto, though the Canadian government has instituted a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for anyone who enters the country.

One of the ways in which individual teams are trying to lessen the burden on players is by having athletes travel directly to whichever city is being used by the league as a bubble site to conduct the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, as the league moves closer to a decision on whether or not to resume play this year, clubs in Boston, New York, Brooklyn and Toronto are seeking permission to have their rosters reunite and train at the to-be-determined resumption site to mitigate the risk involved with travel and isolating in areas designated at COVID-19 hotspots.

Per Wojnarowski:

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"Some teams have considered setting up temporary training camps at interim stops prior to arriving at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, where Eastern Conference teams expect they'll be stationed to complete the season, sources said. Twenty-one of the league's practice facilities are open for voluntary workouts but most players on the Knicks and Nets haven't returned to the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, New York. In most instances, front-office executives said, they're unable to get players to return to their markets to start preparing for the season's resumption without the commissioner announcing that the season will be resumed."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is expected to announce his decision on finishing out the season in early June.