ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy Predicts Covid Outbreaks Will Force the NBA to Require a ‘Pause’ or ‘Bubble’

The recent surge in Covid cases has ESPN analyst and former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy fearing the league will need to do something drastic and unpopular.

“I really feel that at some point there’s gonna be a pause to our season, a bubble to our season,” Van Gundy said during ESPN’s Wednesday night NBA broadcast. “The way they’re predicting these cases to continue to go… I don’t see any way around it.”

“Clearly we hope that you’re wrong,” play-by-play voice Mike Breen replied.

Pro sports looked relatively normal for the last six months. Games were played as scheduled and stadiums were filled with fans. But the recent spike of positive Covid tests in the NBA, NFL and NHL mirrors that of the increased infection rate throughout much of the country.

Earlier this week, the NBA postponed games because of Covid for the first time this season after the Chicago Bulls had a 10th player test positive in a span of less than two weeks.

In 2020, the NBA paved way for a nationwide shutdown after the league paused its season when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid. Four months later, the league restarted in a Covid-free bubble to complete their season. The difference this time around is that more than 97 percent of the league’s players are vaccinated against Covid and nearly 60 percent are already boosted.

Van Gundy’s prediction represents a complete about face from conservative commentator Clay Travis, who earlier this week suggested Covid positive athletes should be allowed to play as long as they’re asymptomatic. While Covid has ravaged the sports world in recent weeks, the positive news is that many athletes are asymptomatic, despite infection.

Watch above via ESPN