Donovan Mitchell revisits the chaotic situation during Jazz vs. Thunder in 2020, called off just before the tip-off as COVID-19 gripped the world.
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The world is no more the same post the COVID-19 pandemic, with masks, sanitizers, and vaccination becoming the essentials of life. As the human race attempts to get back on its feet, people from various walks of life share the hardships they underwent during this time.
The 2020 pandemic paused everyone’s day-to-day routine, with the sporting world being no different. It’s been more than 2-years since the game between the Jazz and Thunder was called off as Rudy Gobert tested positive, sending the NBA into a state of panic.
The date March 11th, 2020, will be forever etched in the history books of American sports. A visiting Jazz was playing the Thunder in Oklahoma, with fans eager to see their favorite players. However, what happened next left everyone puzzled.
#BREAKING: “Due to unforeseen event the game is postponed”
Boos immediately erupted.@okcthunder #coronavirus @NBA @OKCFOX pic.twitter.com/o8vRqkqxtN— Wayne Stafford (@WayneStaffordTV) March 12, 2020
Present at the time of the situation, former Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell would narrate his first-hand experience during the latest episode of JJ Redick’s Old Man & The Three podcast.
The Spida didn’t forget to thank veteran point guard Chris Paul, who supplied them with some wine as the team sat in the locker room for close to 9-hours.
Donovan Mitchell recalls the fateful night in Oklahoma.
The 2020 NBA contest between the Jazz and Thunder is something no hoop fan shall forget anytime soon. On the same day, the WHO declared coronavirus as a global pandemic. Witness to the situation, Donovan Mitchell would give a detailed account of it.
When asked what did he remember about that night in Oklahoma City, Mitchell would give a detailed description of the turn of events during the night in the following clip.
Some of the highlights of the conversation included being stuck in the locker room for 9-hours and getting drunk on a couple of cases of wine supplied by CP3.
Some pretty crazy details from the night the NBA shutdown in March 2020. @spidadmitchell @CP3 pic.twitter.com/qvHzIbWqVi
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) October 20, 2022
Mitchell even spoke about reports of him being upset with former teammate Gobert post contracting the disease.
“I was mad at that time”: Donovan Mitchell on testing positive for COVID.
The memory of Gobert touching every mike is still vivid in many of our heads. However, the three-time DPOY would have never imagined the dire consequences of his unaware actions, something he would regret to this date.
March 11, 2020: Rudy Gobert’s positive test for COVID-19 brought the sports world to a halt.
Now, he’s opening up about the role he played during that time and why he feels there’s more to his story. (via @E60)
Sunday | 11:30 AM ET | ESPN pic.twitter.com/1qtTVA1H3H
— ESPN (@espn) March 4, 2021
Mitchell, who was initially livid at Gobert for his actions, had the following to say on the matter in a recent chat with JJ Redick.
“I was angry, I’m not gonna lie to you. I would say about all the reports that come about me, Rudy, and the team that was probably the most accurate. I was mad. I thought at the time because we didn’t know. I thought because Rudy was around doing whatever that was the reason I got it. Now we don’t know. I could’ve given it to him without contact like whatever, whatever it was we don’t know now looking back at it.”
Though the two former teammates went separate ways this off-season, it’s great to see Mitchell finally clear the air about the whole situation.
Also read: Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert? Who’s got the last laugh?
