Five years ago, sports fans everywhere were glued to their screens, watching an NBA game that never actually started. The Oklahoma City Thunderand Utah Jazzwere set to tip off at Chesapeake Energy Arena on March 11, 2020. But instead of a thrilling matchup with playoff implications, the night became a historical moment-one that signaled the beginning of an unprecedented sports shutdown.
Just minutes before tip-off, team doctors rushed onto the court. Confusion set in as players and coaches whispered on the sidelines. Fans waited, unaware that the next announcement would send shockwaves through the sports world. The game was postponed. Not long after, word got out: Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID-19.
The clip that won’t go away
It wasn’t just the postponement of one game. Gobert’s test result forced the NBA to suspend its entire season indefinitely. Other leagues quickly followed suit, with the NHL, MLB, and NCAA all halting their seasons. But the moment that truly cemented itself in internet history? Two days before his positive test, Gobert had made light of COVID-19 by touching all the microphones at a press conference. That clip resurfaced almost instantly, and in the eyes of many, he became the face of the virus in sports.
Gobert later apologized, admitting his mistake, but the damage was done. “At the time, we had no idea how serious this would become,” he reflected in a later interview. His teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive, leading to tension between the two players that took months to mend.
From empty arenas to the NBA bubble
The impact of that night stretched far beyond basketball. Within days, leagues around the world were shutting down. March Madness was canceled. The MLB delayed its season. The NFL eventually played to empty stadiums. Sports, like everything else, had to adjust to a world with COVID-19.
Months later, the NBA found a way to return-inside a bubble at Walt Disney World. With no fans and strict health protocols, the league completed the season in a way no one had ever seen before. It worked, but the atmosphere was anything but normal.
Gobert’s legacy and the never-ending debate
Five years later, the footage from that night still pops up. Whether it’s the eerie shot of players leaving the court, the stunned expressions of Thunder fans, or that infamous microphone incident, people haven’t forgotten.
Gobert has since moved on, continuing his career and even winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards. But fair or not, he will always be linked to the night sports came to a screeching halt.
That Thunder-Jazz game might have been postponed, but in a way, it never really ended. It just became a symbol of the moment everything changed.
