Barbershop Being Built Inside NBA Bubble In Orlando.

By Gerard Gauthier, BuzzersBlog

With the NBA season set to restart on July 30^th, NBA players have been inside a Disney bubble over the past couple of weeks practicing before the first tip-off. Despite rising cases of COVID-19 in Florida, NBA execs are fully confident in the bubble they have put in place to keep the players safe. There are a strict set of rules that players must follow in order to maintain the safety of everyone in the bubble. Some of the rules include:

Undergoing testing for anyone who has entered the NBA bubble during the week of June 23-30.
Required quarantine for up to 48 hours for anyone entering the bubble until they register two negative COVID-19 cases.
Players who leave the bubble environment would undergo quarantine of up to 10 days upon their return and will need to register two negative tests as well.
Everyone in the bubble is tested each night, with results coming the following morning.
Anyone traveling with each team (players, coaches, staff) are required to acknowledge in writing that they will follow the league’s safety precautions.

Players wearing masks during their stay in the NBA Bubble in Disney World located in Orlando, FL

Although the league cannot guarantee that the bubble will be 100% Covid-19 free, they have taken additional measures that may seem strange, but to officials, they will be taken extremely seriously. These measures include: Players cannot lick fingers during practices and games, and players may also wear bio-metric devices that can measure vita signs.

With all these rules, restrictions and lack of social access, it is easy to understand how an NBA player can feel a little uneasy from the lack of comfort they are experiencing now compared to their stay at luxurious hotels pre-pandemic. However, the NBA has added an extra feature to the bubble that the players are all hyped about. That feature is a real-life version of a barbershop that is similar to the one found in the 2k neighbourhood section of the popular game NBA 2k.

At this barbershop, players will be able to keep up their appearance before the games. Most players including Lebron himself have been in quarantine mode growing out their hair and beards mainly because they were unable to go to the barbershops.

Lebron James and James Harden sporting their quarantine looks

Back in June, the league mentioned having available barbers to cater to the grooming needs of the players. The league has broken it down to 6 barbers who will join the bubble, and they too, will have to go through quarantine protocol prior to making their first cut. This is a great incentive for the league to offer to keep the players inside the bubble and still receive that amazing feeling we all have of receiving a fresh cut.