NBA Reportedly Progressing Toward Virtual Draft Combine at Regional Sites

The NBA is moving toward a "virtual draft combine to be held at regional sites" in September, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Those plans could be formalized and forwarded to NBA teams in the next week, per that report. 

Wojnarowski reported that players would choose from a number of regional facilities throughout the United States, with team doctors giving physicals at local hospitals and league officials taking measurements and administering physical tests like the vertical leap or running drills at team facilities. 

The traditional combine, scheduled for May in Chicago, was canceled during the league's hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Woj also noted that "teams haven't been allowed to do anything with prospective picks save for virtual interviews. Teams can request players to do virtual interviews from the combine sites, just like they could request in Chicago during the annual combine. Those interviews are typically 30 minutes each."

In-person meetings with prospects remain banned by the NBA, however. 

Many top picks would likely pass on any virtual combine workouts, though that would be par for the course—prospective lottery picks often pass up the combine's testing or scrimmages at the traditional event, secure in their draft placement. 

But for players on the fringes of the first round or looking to get drafted, period, this year's combine will be a unique, largely digital event. Such is the state of sports in 2020.