4 Coronavirus Related Sports What-Ifs

It’s official, coronavirus is ruining our lives. The virus has infected over 134,000 people worldwide and taken 4,970 lives since its arrival in January. The virus has hit the sports world in particular extremely hard this week, forcing nearly every sports league in America to cancel or postpone their season. Obviously that’s not a huge deal when looking at the bigger picture, but there are a few sports-related what-ifs that have come from this madness. Let’s take a look at them.

1. What if the NBA Season Returns Later this Summer?

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he doesn’t expect the NBA season to be canceled and said the season could go into August, which is very interesting. Right now the 2nd seed Raptors are slated to face the 7th seed Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. If the NBA season resumes later this summer, both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could possibly return in time for their matchup with the defending champs. I still don’t think the Nets would win even if both stars return, just because we don’t know what KD looks like post-achilles injury and at this point, the Nets will not have played together enough to create any chemistry or figure out how both players fit with the rest of the roster. I’d still pick the Raptors, who are better coached and have championship experience, but I could definitely see the Nets making this series interesting and making a deep playoff run if they get past the reigning champs.

Here’s a big issue the NBA would have if the 2019-2020 season resumes later this summer. What happens to the 2020-2021 season? Does it get pushed back as well? Does it even take place? I don’t really have an answer, but I think the NBA would cancel this season before they allow the coronavirus to impact future seasons.

2. What if the Coronavirus Continues to Spread for Multiple Years?

With many events and school/work being canceled, spreading of the coronavirus should decrease pretty soon in the United States. However, what if that doesn’t happen? What if the coronavirus continues to spread, not enough to cause an apocalypse, but just enough to cause all sports leagues (pro and college) to cancel multiple seasons? If that happens, I for one will be extremely upset, but more importantly, what would happen to sports media companies like ESPN who‘s content focuses solely on sports? They would probably be able to release content for a short amount of time, but without any sports to cover, they would probably go under after a year. I’d expect ESPN to last a pretty long time since they’re massive, but they would have to become more of a worldwide news source otherwise, they too would eventually fail.

Say two years go by without any major league sports. What happens when the leagues return to play? During that time two free agency periods and two drafts would have gone by leaving each league in shambles. Here’s an unrealistic yet exciting solution; a serpentine fantasy draft.

All teams in each major sports league will participate in a serpentine fantasy draft to construct their rosters after the rest period. Also, any rookies and free agents that weren’t able to participate in the draft and free agency while the leagues took a break would be eligible for the draft. The draft should be televised and there should be live betting for the entire event. I know it sounds crazy, but I promise you it would be amazing.

Just Imagine live-betting on whether the #1 pick in the NFL fantasy draft would draft Patrick Mahomes or Trevor Lawrence? I love this idea already. In fact, I’m ordering my Zion Williamson Hawks jersey right now.

3. What if Donavan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert Don’t Survive the Coronavirus?

This is an awful scenario to think about and although it is unlikely to happen, it’s still very possible. It would be devastating for the Jazz if their two stars didn’t survive the virus. Mitchell, an all-star for the first time this season, is one of the NBA’s best young stars and has already carried the Jazz to a playoff win at the age of 23. He’s has shown flashes of a young Dwayne Wade early in his career and has the potential to be a top 15 player in the NBA. Gobert, still only 27, is one of the best defenders in the NBA and a 2x defensive player of the award winner. He joined Mitchell in Chicago this year as a first-time all-star and was in the defensive player of the year race before the season was suspended. If the Jazz lost both players their plans would be pushed back multiple years and they would become a lottery team for three or more years until they could get their feet back under them. This would ultimately close their window to compete for a championship.

4. What Happens to the XFL Now?

I know this isn’t a what-if, but it’s a question that needs to be answered. The XFL announced yesterday that they are canceling the rest of their inaugural season. This is terrible news for a league that was doing really well so far, consistently getting more viewers than college basketball and college baseball. The XFL displayed some really good football week in and week out and it looks like it could be back for a second season. The XFL announced all the players will receive their full base salary and will also be allowed to sign with an NFL team immediately. The XFL also announced they are committed to a second season. I don’t know if a second season is possible, but it’s awesome to see the league isn’t giving up even though the coronavirus has ruined everything they worked so hard for. Hopefully, the XFL returns in 2021, because the league has a lot of potential.

safe out there and enjoy your time off if you get it!