The year 2020 was a dark time for the world. With COVID-19 ravaging the globe, people were forced to adapt to a new way of life. For NBA athletes they had to enter the " Orlando Bubble " at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, to complete the 2019-2020 season.
According to former NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony , who played for the Portland Trail Blazers then, it was a surreal experience that resembled a summer camp. Most of all, the things players did or said were magnified and broadcast for the world to experience.
The NBA's contingency plan
On March 11, 2020, the Association suspended the 2019-2020 season after then-Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. A few months later, the league formulated strict health protocols that paved the way for the season to resume at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, with teams staying at different Disney World hotels.
The season resumed on July 30, and players adjusted to the "bubble" environment. They played games without fans, had daily testing, and followed strict social distancing measures. According to Melo, a ten-time All-Star, that environment highlighted the game and nothing else.
One player who thrived was then-Indiana Pacers forward TJ Warren. Although he had already established himself as a dependable scorer, he took his game to another level in Orlando, scoring 53 points in his first game and ending his stint averaging 31 points per game. These types of performances helped galvanize a player's reputation, said Melo.
"What you didn't want to be was the guy who did nothing in the bubble. Everyone watched every game, so you really got to see each other's performance. That's where the peer-to-peer respect grew. You saw what kind of player everyone was, and if you were performing well, you were the big man on campus. Coming back to the hotels, everyone would talk about your game," the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team member shared on "7 PM in Brooklyn."
In the same breath, that kind of atmosphere also magnified the beef that some players had with one another. And with nowhere else to go, it provided the perfect breeding ground for some intense trash talk.
"Imagine that atmosphere: nobody in the arena, just you and the other players. You couldn't run or hide," Carmelo stated. "You'd hear everything. You got n****s yelling out, 'He trash!' and s**t you normally wouldn't hear. You heard every single thing. It was real beef."
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A summer camp setting
In a regular setting, NBA players typically play the game and then go their separate ways afterward. However, they couldn't have that luxury inside the "Orlando Bubble." This arrangement facilitated the nurturing of new meaningful friendships and the rekindling of old ones.
"We all went to one spot. You had your old teammates, your old coaches, and dudes you hadn't seen in a long time. You could play a game and then chill with them. We were all chilling together. We even had a players-only floor," the recently retired guard Kemba Walker stated.
"It was almost like camp in a sense. Your team was over here, another team over there. You'd see everyone daily. We ate in the same cafeteria, at the same restaurants," Melo said.
As successful as the "Orlando Bubble" was, it was an odd place to play NBA basketball. However, despite the challenges, it allowed players to connect on a deeper level. It puts the limelight on the sport and less on the pomp and circumstance that often surrounds it.
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