The Sacramento Kings practice facility will reopen on May 11th

On Wednesday evening, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the Sacramento Kings would be reopening their practice facility on Monday, May 11^th, the first California-based team to take to do so, and that report was confirmed with a formal team statement on Thursday morning, citing the Sacramento County health guidelines as the basis for that decision. The order, released on April 29^th, just two days after the team announced that their practice facility would remain closed indefinitely, grants an accommodation that will allow the Kings to jumpstart their basketball activities:

allowing non-contact recreational facilities and activities that include the use of shared equipment, including shooting and archery ranges, disc golf, tennis courts and boating, provided that the activities are in conformance with social distancing requirements and appropriate disinfectant processes.

Those social distancing requirements include players staying at least 12 feet apart whenever possible, wearing facemasks when not engaged in physical activity, and not sharing hoops during their workouts. The NBA has also provided strict guidelines for the sanitization of both the equipment that players will be using, as well as the court itself.

While the return to the hardwood will undoubtedly provide some relief for players itching to get back on the court, it will by no means be comprehensive for the Kings or any other team. Sessions will be limited to individual workouts, meaning no scrimmages or mini-games will be permitted, and only four players will be allowed in the facility at any given time. In addition to those league-mandated restrictions, the team also has several players currently out of town, including Buddy Hield, Harry Giles, Yogi Ferrell, and Kent Bazemore. With travel opportunities being limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, any non-local athletes will need to find alternative basketball resources in their area, whether that be another team’s facility or some other venue.

Aside from the rules and regulations surrounding the reopening of their practice facilities, the Kings also shared that no players have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms, an encouraging bit of news for fans around the world. Hopefully the reinstatement of a few basketball activities, while extremely restrictive, is a small step in the long way to go toward basketball, and life, returning to some sense of normalcy.