Most NBA players can only guess what suiting up in a crowdless arena will feel like, but Thunder guard Abdel Nader has firsthand knowledge of the suddenly relevant subject.
On Dec. 14, 2016, Nader scored 22 points for the Maine Red Claws against the Long Island Nets inside the cavernous Barclays Center. G League games rarely draw gigantic crowds, but that day was particularly desolate. All 19,000 seats were empty.
“I definitely remember playing that game,” Nader said last week.
That was the norm for the 2016-17 Long Island Nets. The G League team was scheduled to play at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum that season, but a delay in renovations forced them to relocate to Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.