This Basketball Bubble Is Already Operational. Here’s What It’s Like.

With his Ludwigsburg Giants off to a 3-0 start in Germany’s relaunched basketball Bundesliga, Coach John Patrick and his sons, Johannes and Jacob, seized their off day Saturday by heading to the front desk of the league’s hotel and renting bicycles for 5 euros each.

Since the Patricks were exiting the B.B.L. bubble for an hourlong father-and-sons ride, they had to agree to stay in a group of three or fewer and follow a strict set of rules, including wearing masks; steering clear of public bathrooms, shops and restaurants; and, most of all, completely avoiding human interaction outside the hotel. Players, coaches and team staffers are essentially regulated by only the honor system in the rare instances they leave the Leonardo Royal hotel, but it appears that the league’s directives are working well enough.

Florian Kainzinger, the B.B.L.’s new independent head of hygiene, announced that all 250 people staying at the hotel in Munich had tested negative for the coronavirus through the first week of the tournament, which began June 6. The 10-team, 36-game competition runs through June 28.

“We’d be thrown out of the tournament if we did any of that,” John Patrick said in a telephone interview about violating the B.B.L.’s rules for individuals who leave the hotel. “So I don’t think anyone thinks about it.”

Johannes, 18, and Jacob, 16, are with their American father in the B.B.L. bubble only because Ludwigsburg had to call them up from the youth team. Two key Americans on the roster, Khadeen Carrington and Tanner Leissner, did not return to Germany when the league started up again after the coronavirus pandemic had shut down play for more than two months.

At a maximum of 250 occupants — including referees, league officials and 22-person traveling parties for each of the 10 teams — the Munich bubble is only one-sixth as large as the 1,600-strong N.B.A. version set to convene next month at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to complete the 2019-20 season.

Some of the German practices, like allowing trips into the outside world and serving buffet-style meals, are far more lax than the N.B.A.’s plans — which require players and staff members to remain on campus at nearly all times. Others, like the rule requiring players to choose between wearing contact-tracking sensors around their necks or wrists while in the hotel to assist with contact tracing or wearing a mask at all times, are difficult to imagine N.B.A. players accepting.

All games are played, without fans, in Munich’s Audi Dome. The bubble will be down to about 200 residents starting Wednesday, when the playoffs begin for the eight teams that made it out of the group stage.

How closely the world’s best basketball league can realistically mimic the German operation is unclear, given the differences in scale and season length, but the N.B.A. has certainly been watching. Credit the basketball Bundesliga with successfully following the lead of their German soccer counterparts to become their sport\'s first professional league in Europe to return to the floor.

Thomas Wimbush, who spent his first two professional seasons with the Long Island Nets of the N.B.A. G League, emerged as a top scoring option for Ludwigsburg after Carrington stayed in the United States. Wimbush scored 30 points Monday as the Giants fell, 97-89, to Alba Berlin (4-0) for their first defeat. Luke Sikma, son of the 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jack Sikma, led Alba with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Honestly it’s not as bad as you’d think it is,” Wimbush said of bubble life.

The Brose Bamberg guard Jordan Crawford, a former first-round pick in 2010 who had N.B.A. stints with Atlanta, Washington, Boston, Golden State and New Orleans, likened the atmosphere to “an A.A.U. trip” with all the teams and tournament officials staying in one place. He praised organizers for “a real good game plan” that ensured limited contact “with people not a part of the tournament.”

“I don’t feel it’s hard at all,” Crawford said. “But at the end of the day, it’s only three weeks. If it would be three months, yeah, it would be hard. Definitely.

“You’ve got to just lock in and really understand what you’re here for. If you don’t want to do it, I think it’s best that you don’t.”

Equally crucial to Crawford: B.B.L. officials abandoned their initial plan to forbid “political statements of any orientation” and apologized for suggesting that players would not be allowed to protest police brutality and racism during the tournament. Crawford’s Bamberg team wears warmup shirts with the word “RE-FORM” over an image of Tommie Smith’s famed Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics.

“It was important for me, because playing basketball is definitely second at the moment,” Crawford said.

In the hotel, players are assigned their own rooms — a departure from the usual mandate to have a roommate on the road. Three meals a day are offered at staggered times for the various teams in a hotel restaurant by the same three servers, who are also staying at the hotel to remain fully embedded in the bubble.

Outside food and goods can be ordered, but they must be left and picked up at a designated drop-off zone. Masks must be worn on the bus to and from the gym, with players instructed to use each bus’s secondary door and leave at least three rows behind the driver unoccupied. With the hotel’s workout facility off limits, each team was allotted two extra hotel rooms: one to be used as a weight room, and the other as a physiotherapy room.

“They have been almost overcareful,” Luke Sikma said. “Obviously in this case, being the first league to come back, it had to be like that. You have to err on the side of caution.”

Players were briefly quarantined in their rooms upon arrival until they registered a negative coronavirus test, then were permitted to move freely around the hotel without a mask as long as they wore the tracking sensor.

“Honestly, with all the tests we’ve done and how well you’ve seen Germany respond to the Covid crisis, the biggest issue for me wasn’t necessarily the Covid part,” Sikma said of returning from Seattle to finish the season. “The Germans are very thorough. They gave us like 40 pages of protocols, so that wasn’t my worry. It was more just a matter of physically going from a stop almost to getting right back into it.”

Patrick’s team faced one of the tournament’s major initial challenges when the Giants’ Jaleen Smith tested positive for the coronavirus after participating in several practices in Ludwigsburg. Patrick said Smith’s first four coronavirus tests had been negative after he rejoined the Giants, but the American guard was forced to stay behind when the team traveled to Munich.

Smith, who had to register two negative tests before being allowed to rejoin the Giants, wound up missing only one game. Wimbush said Smith was welcomed back without hesitation by his teammates.

As for the tracking sensors, all four Americans we interviewed said they were not nearly as ominous as they sounded. The sensors, which pop into a neck lanyard or a small wristband, are only worn by players inside the hotel and last for 12 hours before needing a charge. They also track interactions with other sensors rather than a player’s specific location within the hotel.

Privacy concerns have been raised, but league officials say the chips, as Ben Dowsett detailed in a piece for Forbes, are meant to identify others at risk in case someone within the bubble tests positive for the coronavirus.

“It’s not some futuristic thing like where it’s pet tracking or something,” Sikma said. “Personally, it hasn’t been a big issue.”

Crawford acknowledged that he was dismayed at first that the chips, produced by the German company Kinexon, were “kind of sprung on us” when players got to Munich. In daily practice, though, Crawford has not found the chips, nor any of the other restrictions, to be too onerous.

“I can’t complain after I agreed to do something,” Crawford said.

Patrick said his team was indeed “a little nervous” at the outset, mostly because of the inevitable fear of the unknown. But after 10 days of bubble life, Patrick agreed with Sikma’s contention that “it’s pretty normal inside the hotel.”

The four-star property may not quite be up to N.B.A. standards, but one conference room downstairs has been turned into a well-stocked game room (with a golf simulator, N.B.A. 2K video games, table tennis, etc.), and players or staff can rent scooters as well as bikes to explore the vast Olympic Park nearby.

“We’re literally in one of the nicest areas in one of the nicest cities in the world, so we can’t really complain about that,” said Patrick, adding that B.B.L. participants are “the guinea pigs for a lot of leagues.”

Perhaps unwittingly, Patrick then hit upon what might be the biggest thing Germany’s basketball bubble has in common with the N.B.A. version, which is scheduled to take in 22 teams from July 7-9: Keeping the B.B.L. viable and active, amid great economic hardship, is crucial for its future.

“Everyone knows this isn’t just about this season,” he said. “It’s about the possibility to play next season.”

“So far, so good,” Sikma said.

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Corner Three

You ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line. (Responses may be condensed and lightly edited for clarity.)

Q: Always good to voice your concern after the agreement has been made. Good job, Kyrie. — @averageupside from Twitter

Stein: The way your point is framed here is not entirely accurate or fair to Kyrie Irving.

The National Basketball Players Association indeed approved the N.B.A.’s 22-team format for a return to play on June 5 through a 28-0 vote by team player representatives. And Irving is the Nets’ player representative, meaning he cast one of those 28 votes. But there are a few key details that can’t be omitted from consideration.

The official statement from the players’ union after the vote made it clear that the N.B.A. was not all the way back. The union, as its statement indicated, only officially signed off on the competitive aspects of the 22-team plan: “Various details remain to be negotiated and the acceptance of the scenario would still require that all parties reach agreement on issues relevant to resuming play.”

It is also certainly conceivable that Irving changed his mind last week after voting in favor of the proposal. That would be more than understandable in the midst of a Black Lives Matter movement that, for many N.B.A. players, ranks as the most meaningful moment of their lives in the quest for racial equality and societal justice. At a time of such introspection, minds will change.

Where Irving’s actions over the past week-plus can be scrutinized are in his role as a vice president of the players’ union. By organizing multiple phone calls in which he has advocated walking away from the planned restart, Irving has created an impression that he is actively working against the union — despite his status as a high-ranking officer.

The Coronavirus Outbreak

Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

Updated June 16, 2020
- I’ve heard about a treatment called dexamethasone. Does it work?
  
  The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.
- What is pandemic paid leave?
  
  The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.
- Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?
  
  So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
- What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?
  
  Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
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  A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
- How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
  
  The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
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  Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
- My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?
  
  States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
- What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
  
  Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
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  If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
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  Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
- Should I wear a mask?
  
  The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
- What should I do if I feel sick?
  
  If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
- How do I get tested?
  
  If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.

It’s natural to wonder why Irving, as a member of the executive council, didn’t push harder on the rest of union leadership to be more detailed, and quicker, in providing a wider swath of players with a basic framework of the health and safety protocols they have been negotiating with the league. The first detailed summary of those protocols was sent to N.B.A. players (via their agents) Tuesday afternoon.

Given his working proximity to all of the N.B.P.A.’s power brokers, Irving also appeared perfectly positioned to urge the union to take the lead on initiating broader conversations about the concerns various players have that restarting the season would detract from Black Lives Matter momentum.

Pushback was inevitable, but not only because of the players’ growing desire to make sure they don’t diminish the movement. There is also no shortage of health concerns among players amid a rising number of coronavirus cases in Florida, along with trepidation about the restrictions of bubble life at Disney World.

Don’t put all that on Irving. Only the N.B.P.A., for starters, can explain the process that led 28 player representatives to vote on behalf of more than 400 players on such an important decision.

Michele Roberts, the N.B.P.A. executive director, did not respond to a request for comment on the vote mechanics lodged on June 4 but told ESPN in late May: “If we thought we needed a vote, we would. If we’re ratifying a C.B.A., we need a vote. But our preferred method is talking to people or just having them talk to us. Then if we get a sense of what the sentiment is, we can move forward. We talk to our players and figure it out.”

Roberts held conference calls with all 30 teams before the vote to gather those sentiments, but at least two more pertinent questions linger on this front: Did the 28 out of 30 player representatives who voted actually poll their teammates before casting those votes? And why was a vote of this magnitude conducted with less than a full turnout?

Rumbles of rank-and-file discontent with the whole voting process, fueled by such questions, were frequent last week, which may help explain why Irving was able to attract a crowd of more than 80 players to a conference call on Friday night. Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported Friday that “a significant number of players” were disappointed they had not gotten a chance to vote, and he cited Orlando’s Mo Bamba specifically for having expressed concerns on the call that some younger players around the league felt too “intimidated” to contradict the views of more established players.

Irving’s methods have generated a variety of opinions, but he has, at the very least, given Bamba and others an outlet.

Q: First player? So John Wall doesn’t have the same injury? — @youknowitsbril from Twitter

Stein: This reader took issue with my highlighting Kevin Durant’s bid to become the first N.B.A. player since Dominique Wilkins in the early 1990s to regain All-Star form after rupturing an Achilles’ tendon without mentioning Wall, the Washington Wizards point guard, in last week’s newsletter.

No slight to Wall was intended. Wall, too, will be trying to join Wilkins on the very short list of top players to get back to that level post-Achilles’ tear, although it must be noted that even Wilkins had to make adjustments to his game to become more versatile and expand his shooting range to compensate for lost explosion.

Wall, a five-time All-Star, sustained his injury in January 2019 and, like Durant, has indicated he does not intend to return until next season. They face the same challenge: History tells us that this injury inflicts long-term damage like no other in basketball.

It makes a lot of sense, then, that Durant and Wall are doing it their way, ignoring calls to rush back and stretching their rehabilitation periods to well over a year in both cases. The more typical recovery time frame is eight to 12 months, but a new, ultra-deliberate approach seems worth trying.

Q: In last week’s newsletter, I actually found a typo. In the paragraph that refers to Kevin Durant winning back-to-back championships with Golden State, it says that he came to the Warriors in the “summer of 2017” when it should be 2016. — Derek Tahara

Stein: Good catch, Derek. It wasn’t a typo — it was a flat-out mistake. Thanks for reading so closely.

Numbers Game

The Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge, right, will miss the rest of the season after having a shoulder operation in April.Credit...Jeffrey Swinger/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

21

Based on the latest schedule provided to teams, players would have only 21 days of full-speed practices — from July 9 through July 29 — before real games resume. Once games begin at Walt Disney World on July 30, most players will have had the longest layoff they’ve ever faced. All 30 N.B.A. practice facilities are now open for individual workouts, but five-on-five drills will not be permitted until teams arrive in Florida next month.

1,000

Only two active players have scored at least 1,000 points in each of the past 13 seasons: LeBron James and LaMarcus Aldridge. San Antonio announced last week that Aldridge had a shoulder operation on April 24 and will miss the rest of the season. The Spurs will thus be forced to try to reach the playoffs for a league-record 23rd consecutive season without Aldridge, whose 18.9 points per game is second on the team.

17

Just 10 of the German basketball Bundesliga’s 17 teams entered its season-ending tournament this month. Bayern Munich’s Greg Monroe, the league’s most prominent former N.B.A. player, elected to stay in the United States after returning home when the B.B.L. suspended play in March.

4

Dirk Nowitzki is sixth on the career scoring list with 31,560 points, but his highest single-season finish in the N.B.A. scoring race was fourth (26.1 points per game in 2004-5 and 25.9 points per game in 2008-9). The curiosity behind this rewind was inspired by Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers winning the Art Ross Trophy as the N.H.L.’s highest point producer in the regular season. This story from Andrew Knoll in The Times on May 29 billed Draisaitl as the first German to win a scoring title in a major North American sports league.

100

Friday will be the 100th day of the N.B.A.’s shutdown in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

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