For hoop heads, March 11 is a day that will live on in infamy.
On that fateful Wednesday night, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the entire league to a halt and leaving us to endure a world without NBA basketball.
It took nearly five months for the NBA to get back on its feet and when it finally returned, it looked nothing like anything we had ever experienced. Fans were nowhere to be found, social justice initiatives were at the forefront, and even though players were isolated from the rest of civilization, they made it a point to remind the world at the end of the day, they’re still Black folks just like the rest of us.
It’s an experience that will stay with both the NBA and its fans for the rest of our lives. And now, ESPN will revisit the day that started it all with the latest installment of its critically-acclaimed 30 for 30 Podcasts series, March 11 2020.
Featuring news stories, audio clips, and contributions from everyone from Dr. Fauci to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to Jazz halftime performer Frankie J, we’ll be treated to the inside scoop on the NBA shut down as told by the unfortunate souls who lived it.
“This has been the strangest, longest, and most challenging of years. It’s hard to process all we’ve been through, but it’s actually quite simple to identify the turning point, the moment where it felt like everything changed: March 11th,” Julia Lowrie Henderson, 30 for 30 Podcasts’ Senior Editorial Producer, said in a statement provided to The Root. “All of our lives were impacted by the events of that day. At the time we had no idea how deeply, or how long this might last, but we felt the seismic shift when the first professional athlete tested positive for coronavirus and the NBA suspended its season. If our mission at 30 for 30 is to tell stories that explore how sports, competition, athleticism, and adventure affect our lives and our world, then it felt crucial to us to find a way to tell the story of that day.”
March 11 2020 is set to premiere on Dec. 21. But for those eager to get a taste, you can check out the trailer now on Apple Podcasts.