Thunder Players and Staff Test Negative for COVID-19 Virus

The coronavirus has impacted sports to the point that games cannot be played, but even staying indoors cannot fix past (unintentional) contact.

While some NBA teams weren't as lucky, the Oklahoma City Thunder reported that none of their players or staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Also, the release notes the Thunder’s use of a private lab for testing: “Recognizing the stress on the state of Oklahoma’s medical system, the Thunder did not use state resources and chose an alternative path for testing of its personnel.”
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 18, 2020

Good news for the NBA and Oklahoma City, as some teams like the Brooklyn Nets, the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons had infected players in their ranks. Despite all of this, however, all involved are getting help and should make a full recovery in time. For now, all they can do is quarantine.

JUST IN: 4 Brooklyn Nets players test positive for coronavirus https://t.co/kf3FQDC26l pic.twitter.com/Pc1rHQKZOA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2020

The real commendable part of this is that the Thunder chose not to use public test kits, which are in short supply across America. The Utah Jazz expended 58 testing kits while trying to test their players, which is a large capacity compared to what the nation can produce per day.

How did the Utah Jazz get 58 coronavirus tests while the rest of the nation only got eight yesterday? https://t.co/VHPFAiLWnW
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) March 12, 2020

The Utah Jazz probably felt an urgent pressure to test their players, as their star center Rudy Gobert was the NBA's patient zero. The Thunder canceled their game against the Jazz when it was discovered that Gobert contracted the virus.

The Thunder were enjoying an impressive 2020 season, and hopefully this delay ends soon so that basketball can return.