In an effort to get the word out about health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic, NBA & WNBA players, legends and coaches are filming PSAs from home that share messages of support and tips for reducing risk, staying healthy and practicing social distancing.<\/p>\n
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More than 20 \u00a0<\/strong>players and legends have participated in PSAs, generating more than 45 million<\/strong> video views<\/strong> across the league\u2019s Instagram Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok platforms since the first PSA launched on March 13.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As part of the NBA Together<\/a> (https:\/\/on.nba.com\/2Uf8GWE)<\/a> initiative, every weekday at 9:00 p.m. CAT a member of the NBA family will engage with fans globally, participating in a live interview with NBA broadcast talent or taking questions from fans on Instagram live. Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Kevin Love tipped off the series on Friday night.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last Sunday, the Basketball Africa League<\/strong> posted this video message from BAL President, Amadou Gallo Fall<\/strong>: https:\/\/twitter.com\/theBAL\/status\/1241777193929388032<\/a><\/p>\n (French subtitles)<\/p>\n \u201cAs we await the start of our inaugural BAL season, our priority and focus remain the health of our fans, our players, coaches, employees and everyone associated with our game. It is important that we all remain vigilant and take preventive steps as outlined by health officials and infectious disease specialists to limit exposure to the coronavirus, as much as possible, including avoiding large crowds and practicing social distancing, regularly washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, avoiding touching your face, especially your nose, mouth and eyes. I am disappointed we were not able to launch our league as initially planned earlier this month, but I look forward to the launch of the BAL at a future date. We are monitoring the situation closely and we will advise as we have more details. Please continue to stay tuned to @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook for the latest news updates. In the meantime, thank you for your continuous support. Stay safe and stay healthy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n See the links to the video PSAs below and visit<\/strong> https:\/\/www.nba.com\/<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> which is now a hub for information and resources:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe must do all we can right now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease pay attention to what the health experts are advising, from good healthy habits to social distancing…If you\u2019re passing information to others, make sure it’s correct\u2026Visit the World Health Organization for the most up-to-date information on the coronavirus. Let’s be there for each other and let’s work as one team.\u201d<\/em> (Transcript in French attached)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n “I want to encourage everyone to work from home if you can, make sure that we stay isolated, that we listen to our health officials and take care of yourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe best thing that we all could do right now is try to be as selfless as possible…This is a time where we gotta make sure that we’re all okay and make sure that we’re all listening to our health officials and our communities and make sure that we’re trying to stay home as much as possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Chris<\/strong> also offered advice to the Jr. NBA<\/a> family on practicing everyday: https:\/\/twitter.com\/jrnba\/status\/1241424337413922817<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n “Really trying to take this moment to self-quarantine so we can stop the spike of the coronavirus and hopefully flatten the curve so less people get it, so we can expose less people. Please take care of you mental health at this time as well. It’s super, super important.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n “Hope everybody is staying safe out there practicing social distancing and hanging at home. Now that League Pass has all the games from this season available to watch, you might want to check out this game where I scored 51 points.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou know where I got my name (The Glove) from – defense and being in my opponent\u2019s face. But I’m going to be real with you right now. Right now is not the time to be in anybody’s face. That’s right. We all have to do our part in participating in social distancing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Discussed his PSA<\/a> and focus on mental wellness during this stressful time<\/a> on the TODAY Show last week:<\/a><\/p>\n “Now more than ever, we have to practice compassion. We have to be kind. We have to be mindful of our words, our actions and really practice a sense of community.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Let’s follow all the health guidelines about washing your hands on a regular basis. It is also especially important that we learn what it means to practice social distancing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAs best you can, social distance yourself and we can flatten the curve and get rid of this virus as soon as possible. Stop the spread.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “As we all work to stop the spread of coronavirus, we’re practicing social distancing. Everybody should be doing it…We will miss fans and our teammates and basketball but if we work together, we’re going to be back there soon.”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to tap in and make sure that were all following the important steps that health officials are telling us to follow.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Continue to stay active, whether it\u2019s doing pushups, sit-ups or my favorite – just dribbling around the house with a basketball.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis is all about protecting yourself and the people around you. I wish I would have took this thing more seriously and I hope everyone else will do so because we can do it together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThank you guys so much for your continued support. It means a lot to me. Things are going well. I’m just taking the proper precautions as was told to me by the health authorities.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDuring this time, we should all be looking out for one another in staying calm and staying safe. By taking steps like washing your hands on a regular, staying out of large crowds. If your coughing or sneezing, covering your mouth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI just want to encourage everybody to continue to be great citizens. Please wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer. Please just protect yourselves and the people around you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Just a reminder to make sure you guys wash your hands, avoid large crowds and if you might be sick, quarantine yourself. This is only a virus that we can beat together. Hopefully we’ll be seeing you guys soon and back on the floor.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Music is there through the good times & bad! It gets you through anything and right now it\u2019s all I need, love learning new tunes. Anybody know these tunes? Stay home and stay safe everyone!”<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Coming from a medical family, I just want to make sure we all take the time to thank the doctors, nurses and first responders who work every day to help us fight this virus\u2026Also, I would like to acknowledge everyone that is out there providing essential services to all of us during this pandemic. We will do our part to help slow down the spread.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cStaying healthy takes teamwork. Remember to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. And try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Help stop the spread of germs by making these easy habits part of your daily game plan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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