National Basketball Association

NBA Outlines Rules For Bubble Guests

Updated Aug. 12, 2020 4:36 p.m. ET

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NBA players could begin having guests in the Orlando bubble by the end of the month, according to multiple reports.

The league released a memo on Wednesday detailing the policy, which outlined whom players can invite to the bubble.

Guests will be limited to family members, private security staff, established family care providers and "longtime close personal friends with whom a player has an established, pre-existing, and known personal relationship."

Players and coaches have been very vocal – even before getting to the bubble – about the difficulties they face being separated from their families. 

LeBron James put it simply to USA Today on Aug. 3:

"I miss the hell out of my family. My wife, my kids, my mother. And so on and so on. So, it’s a huge challenge."

The Phoenix Suns, to their credit, came up with a creative way to connect players with their loved ones on Tuesday.

Although family is allowed, the memo went to great length to detail prohibited guests, which includes chefs and tattoo artists. 

But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising restriction is that players cannot invite individuals to the bubble that they have yet to meet in person.

That specific clause spawned a lively discussion between Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on First Take Wednesday morning, one that Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal got a kick out of.

"You better let somebody come up in there and see 'em. You understand what I'm saying to you? I'm just being real. Somebody's gotta say it."

Only teams advancing to the second round of the playoffs will be offered the opportunity to invite guests.

We'll see how things the stands shape up in a few short weeks.

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