SAN ANTONIO -- With an important win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Spurs are still in the fight for a spot in the playoffs.
- Could end up playing games without fans
- Fan and media interaction limited
But with the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it's possible they could end up playing some of the final regular season games in empty arenas.
READ MORE | More Cruise Ship Passengers to Be Quarantined at JBSA-Lackland
No measures that extreme have been mandated yet, and the AT&T Center was packed for the victory on Tuesday.
However, some new protocols have been put into place for the media.
Usually, reporters are allowed at the Spurs shootarounds on game day mornings, but on Tuesday the gym was closed. Instead of the typical crowded media roundup, players sat at a podium for interviews, separating them from media members.
A small room inside the AT&T where media members can interview players and coaches while they sit at a distance on a podium (Spectrum News)
Basketball is a sport where fans are fairly close to the action, and to other fans. This may make some fans think twice before entering a packed arena, but that certainly wasn't a problem on Tuesday night.
One family of Mavs fans made the four-hour drive down to San Antonio from Dallas for the game, fully aware of the outbreak
READ MORE | SXSW 2020 Canceled Amid Coronavirus Fears
“We just bought the tickets maybe last week or the week before, so no, we still, we knew," said Mavs fan Ranee Sparkman.
The Sparkman family agreed to take the same precautions they would for the flu and aren’t extra worried about COVID-19.
“Not at all. No, I mean we just do our same thing, we wash our hands, you know, use antibacterial cream," Sparkman said.
A sign inside the AT&T Center describing how to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) (Spectrum News)
The Spurs players felt similarly and have been advised of the best ways to stay healthy.
“It’s really no different than any other time during the season, to be honest," said Spurs point guard Patty Mills. "Um, washing your hands, obviously staying away from, um, coughing and sneezing, I mean it’s stuff that we do any way.”
“I mean, I feel like there’s a new disease every other year it seems like, but, um, just trying to be smart," said Spurs guard Derrick White.
NBA officials and owners are expected to meet later this week to discuss further measures but there’s no doubt the players want the fans in the stands.
"Yeah, that’d be crazy, I mean I don’t know if anyone’s ever played a game without any fans there," White said.
“You know, the crowd, especially the home team, um, you have that advantage of being able to play in front of thousands and thousands of people, so no doubt no one in the stands, it would definitely make somewhat of an impact," Mills said.
READ MORE | Timeline: How the Spread of the Coronavirus Reached Texas
While some of the personal interactions like autographs or pictures with fans are off the table right now, some of the precautions might have an upside.
“This chair’s kind of nice, actually, nice and comfortable rather than standing so maybe we need to start doing this more often, I don’t know," White said.
For more information on COVID-19, visit the Spectrum News coronavirus page.