When the NBA returns later this month, only the players and select personnel will fill the arenas. The seats will be empty. At the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, where the NBA is creating a “bubble” for 22 teams to compete, no fans will be allowed in or out. For players used to playing in front of 19,000 raucous fans, the quiet atmosphere could be unsettling.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I never experienced such a thing,” Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic says about playing in an empty arena. “It’s going to be worse for sure.