NBA targets May 8 for earliest individual player workouts at team facilities

The NBA’s crawl toward normalcy hit a new milestone Monday with an important date circled on the league calendar.

The earliest individual player workouts at their respective team facilities can take place is May 8, the NBA announced, as stay-at-home orders issued by state governments are slowly relaxed across the nation. The league had previously set a goal of May 1.

Notably, the NBA’s new target date lands on the same day that Denver’s stay-at-home order begins to relent with some nonessential businesses allowed back in operation. A Nuggets spokesman declined to comment further beyond the NBA’s announcement but said the team will know more in the coming days about plans to re-open its practice facility at the Pepsi Center.

Players will be subject to strict health and social-distancing protocols upon return. The NBA said the following restrictions will apply:

• No more than four players would be permitted at a facility at any one time.
• No head coach or assistant coaches could participate.
• Group activity remains prohibited, including practices or scrimmages.
• Players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health clubs, fitness centers, or gyms.

The Nuggets (43-22, 3rd Western Conference) last played a game more than six weeks ago — a March 11 loss at the Mavericks.