Report: NBA Sends Memo to Teams Outlining Protocols for Allowing Fans at Games

The NBA reportedly sent a memo to all 30 teams Wednesday with guidelines to follow if fans are allowed in arenas during the 2020-21 season. 

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported all spectators who are going to sit within 30 feet of the court must produce negative COVID-19 tests two days prior to the game or a negative rapid result on game day. Here are some other protocols, per Charania:

In October, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was hopeful teams would be able to host fans next season depending on local coronavirus rules and regulations.

"We're learning that it can be done, that you can strike a balance between public health and economic necessity," Silver told Mark Medina of USA Today. "They're all valid, and it's not just whatever the scientists say, and it's not just whatever the politicians say. Ultimately, the people in government have to make these decisions. But all of these are public health issues, not just COVID-19."

The financial realities of the pandemic, which ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported led to several economic adjustments to the CBA as part of the agreement to start a 72-game season Dec. 22, increased the urgency to get fans back in the stadiums to increase basketball-related income (BRI).

The longer BRI continues to lag, the longer it will take to return to an environment where the salary cap will be expected to increase on an annual basis.

That said, the NBA's effort to restart play just over two months after the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 championship also comes at the same time as another nationwide COVID-19 surge that's led to several records in terms of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks.

It makes the situation more difficult to analyze as the NBA gets prepared to restart play in December, but the league continues to plan for the potential return of fans.

The NBA completed its 2019-20 season in a "bubble" at the Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida.