It feels almost surreal how quickly time has passed, as though it were just yesterday when the world suddenly came to a halt under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 bringing life as we knew it to a standstill. Among the countless industries disrupted, the NBA was no exception, forced into an unprecedented pause that changed the course of an entire season.<\/p>\n
However, unlike several other major sporting competitions that were forced to shut down, Adam Silver<\/a> and his staff quickly devised an ambitious plan to preserve the season and ultimately complete it inside the Orlando Bubble.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Twenty-two teams were placed across three Walt Disney World hotels in Orlando, with a seven-week isolation period before players would be allowed to see their families. During that time, Stephen A. Smith<\/a> drew significant media attention with his comments about players being away from their wives and girlfriends.<\/p>\n “Do we really think the recreational activities, what these guys are accustomed to, are going to be compromised for three months?” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “You really think people are going to be without their wives or their women? \u2026 You really think they’re going to honor a Bubble for three months?”<\/p>\n “I just said forget three months \u2014 they’re going to struggle with three weeks. Why do you think they wanted Vegas? The issue right now is you’re in Orlando for the first month, you’ve got to be alone,” he added.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Strict COVID-19 testing protocols<\/p>\n Once the regular season was completed, teams that advanced to the playoffs were finally given the opportunity to contact their families, subject to strict COVID-19 testing protocols.<\/p>\n The testing process itself was demanding and the mental strain on players and their family members was significant. Isolation inside the Bubble, combined with playoff pressure and separation from family, created an unusually difficult environment.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Danny Green, who experienced the Bubble firsthand as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers during their championship run, once explained why it was his “least favorite championship.”<\/a><\/p>\n “I will say the Bubble is probably my least favorite experience,” Green said<\/a> on the “Roommates” podcast with Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. “I don’t want to make it seem like it was a terrible situation\u2026 We were in a really nice resort, but just being there for almost a hundred days and the first two months without families \u2014 as a grown man, that’s difficult.”<\/p>\n Related: “White racists versus Black Atlanta” – Jason Whitlock thinks Angel Reese’s trade to the Dream will further ignite rivalry with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever<\/a><\/p>\n Mental toughness<\/p>\n Despite the constant stream of difficult, often unsettling news throughout the pandemic, the NBA managed to deliver a completed season for fans who had been anxiously awaiting its conclusion.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n It is difficult to fully comprehend how challenging it must have been for the world’s biggest stars to be confined to isolation, unable to live a normal life.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, however, they were still doing what they love most \u2013 playing basketball.<\/p>\n It is also important to consider those who have questioned aspects of that period, including claims that the Lakers’ championship should be viewed differently, arguing that the circumstances of the Orlando Bubble created an unusual competitive environment.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Still, many point to the mental toughness required to endure months away from family and under unprecedented conditions as evidence of just how demanding the experience truly was.<\/p>\n And yes, even the “needs” Stephen A. has talked about made the whole experience more demanding.<\/p>\n Related: “He’s not Kobe or Magic” – Stephen A. Smith urges LeBron to leave Lakers for “God-Like” return to Cleveland<\/a><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Basketball Network<\/a> on Apr 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court<\/a> section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It feels almost surreal how quickly time has passed, as though it were just yesterday when the world…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[7639,64,63,293402,20455,87780,7232,590,21234,293401,85,41711],"class_list":{"0":"post-602305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-adam-silver","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-disney-bubble","12":"tag-jalen-brunson","13":"tag-josh-hart","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-nba-players","17":"tag-orlando-bubble","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-stephen-a-smith"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}