Dr. Anthony Fauci Says NBA's 22-Team Orlando Restart Plan Is 'Quite Creative'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the NBA's plan to invite 22 teams to Orlando, Florida, to finish the 2019-20 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic "quite creative."

Fauci also told Michael Kim of Stadium he was "very pleased to see that the intent was not reckless at all."

The 22 teams will stay in something of a bubble environment, and the games will not take place in front of fans. In May, Fauci told NBC Sports' Peter King it was "feasible that negative testing players could play to an empty stadium" when talking about the potential for NFL teams to return to play in September.

The NBA has been on hiatus since March 11. The season was suspended shortly after Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

Fauci's comments come after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported "there's a faction of players discussing as a group whether restarting [the] season in the Orlando bubble is a good idea" during a pandemic.

What's more, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported "many" players are not happy they may be apart from their families for an extended period of time in Orlando.

The NBA decided to invite the 16 teams in the current playoff field as well as six other teams that are within six games of the final postseason spot. Every team will play eight regular-season games, and there could be a play-in tournament for the No. 8 seed depending on the standings.

If the No. 9 seed is within four games of the playoffs, it will face the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament. The No. 9 seed would have to win two straight games to make the playoffs.

After the play-in tournament, the 16 remaining teams will face off in a traditional playoffs with best-of-seven series.