Donovan looks back on the day the NBA shut down
The Bulls preseason opener Friday took place exactly nine months after their last game, a victory over Cleveland at the United Center on March 10.
The next day, the Bulls flew to Orlando for the start of a road trip, and the sports world came to a screeching halt with the cancellation of game between Utah and Oklahoma City. Just before tipoff, with players on the court and the arena full, the game was called off due to a positive COVID test by Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
It was surreal to watch the scene from a distance, but Bulls coach Billy Donovan was right in the middle of it on the Thunder bench.
"To tell you how naive I was, when the game got canceled, I said to the team, 'Let's meet tomorrow and we'll practice and we'll get some running and scrimmaging and playing in,' " Donovan said Friday. "Little did I know I never saw those guys again until July 8.
"You just didn't know what was going to happen. I remember when we left it was crazy. We couldn't even leave through the normal entrances and exits. We had to go through a roundabout way through the equipment area. We weren't allowed to go down by Utah's locker room."
The NBA restart was a short turnaround for some teams. Not the Bulls, who weren't invited to the Orlando bubble. The Bulls have one player, guard Garrett Temple, who is out after testing positive for COVID.
"It's just amazing how all the cases have actually skyrocketed during this time, and maybe wasn't quite as bad in March as it is right now," Donovan said. "So, you know, it's really, it's been I think a challenging time for everybody. I think about all the people that have lost jobs, that have been impacted by this, whether it's loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, not being able to see loved ones, the separation from maybe parents or grandparents who are trying to keep themselves safe.
"But, I mean, the world has totally changed. And now you're obviously trying to get back to doing something you love doing, you know, in the game of basketball, and certainly it puts it in perspective how people are that pack groceries and that are on the front lines of giving people care to get them back to being healthy.
"I have always said maybe sport in some way can be a source of hope and inspiration for people ... to get out of the having to deal with this constantly on everybody's mind."