Wednesday’s Oklahoma City Thunder–Utah Jazz game at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City was postponed before tipoff after a player tested positive for the coronavirus, the NBA said in a statement.
The player is the Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, sources told ESPN.
The NBA said in a statement that the player’s test result was reported shortly before tipoff. The NBA said the player wasn’t in the arena.
The starting lineups were announced, and it appeared the game was ready to start. Then, after conversation among the officials, the teams went back to the locker rooms and the officials left the floor.
The Thunder mascot and the team’s hype crew, the Storm Chasers, tried to keep a full house of fans entertained during the delay. The halftime entertainment was moved up to pregame.
The postponement announcement came about 35 minutes after the scheduled tipoff, with the public-address announcer saying the decision was made “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.