NBA G-League President on basketball season amid the pandemic: ’It’s a great accomplishment’

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, NBA G-League President, joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous to discuss the outlook on the professional basketball industry amid the pandemic.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: The NBA's official minor league, the G League, is in the middle of its playoff games after wrapping a regular season played in a bubble on the campus of Disney World in Orlando. The championship game, by the way, is set for tomorrow.

And we are delighted that the NBA G League's president, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, is able to make a little time for us during this very busy week. And he joins us now. Shareef, good to see you. Congratulations on making it to this point during this crazy time. I know that you guys have been playing in a bubble there at Walt Disney World. Tell me how things have been going and how have you been able to keep everybody safe.

SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM: Yeah, Alexis, you know, first, thanks for having me. And things are going well. You know, we've completed 135 regular season games. Our top eight teams advanced to a single elimination playoff. And as you mentioned, we're now on the eve of our G League Championship between the Delaware Blue Bolts and the Lakeland Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers affiliate team and the Orlando Magic affiliate team.

Things have gone great. We had the good fortune of being able to borrow from, obviously, the NBA and the WNBA and what they accomplished this summer during their seasons in the protocol and the stringent health and safety guidelines. So we've tested every day and really advised our players and staff to social distance, to wear masks, to practice good hygiene. And everyone, they've done a great job, and we've, fortunately, been able to keep everyone safe here.

But it's really been a lot of work by a number of different groups. We're happy to be on the eve of our championship game. It's a great accomplishment for us.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: It really, really is, and it's the work of a lot of folks, right? It's the players, it's the coaches, it's the league. You know, yesterday, we spoke to the commissioner of the Big East, Val Ackerman, who is getting ready for her tournament to tip off and I guess, just about a half an hour from now. And she was telling us the protocols they have to go through.

Of course, they're over there at Madison Square Garden, and they are able to have some fans in the stands because Governor Cuomo allowed 10% capacity at arenas in the state, although she did say they're not doing the 2,000 that would be allowed at MSG. They're just allowing, like, 800, people who are very close to players and to the league. But what has the situation been like for you at the G League? Have you had fans in the stands?

SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM: Yeah, so no fans, and, you know, unfortunately, our families of our players and our staff have not been able to join us here. You know, we held an abbreviated season. So, you know, altogether, we've been here just about 45 days. And we tried to come in and just keep a really tight community.

We have for our players, our players really look for the opportunity to be scouted and seen by NBA personnel. So NBA personnel, all 30 teams have been able to come in and scout our players. And, you know, we've had about 15 or so players that have had the opportunity to leave the G League and get what we call call-ups to the NBA. And that's been kind of meaningful and really important for our players. But unfortunately, for this season, we haven't had-- we haven't been able to have our fans with us or, you know, the families that are so important.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: No, I know. We're all waiting for the day for that to be possible again. Talk to me a little bit about-- I mean, you just touched on it briefly, but talk to me more about how the pandemic has affected your ability to scout and recruit talent, and also to have the talent you already have, like you say, move on up to the NBA.

SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM: Well, you know-- well, first, in scouting and connecting with talent, you know, obviously, we are restricted in our ability to go out and be around people and see folks. So, a lot of what you're doing, you're leveraging technology just the way we're doing in our daily lives, meeting with people, and seeing folks, and getting together. So we video and meeting via Zoom and Google Meet and other platforms. That's the way we've been able to continue just connecting and working with our players.

Fortunately, in a situation like this, where we can bring everyone together, we're able to-- our NBA people, we're able to provide testing for them and protocol for them to keep everyone safe. Our players have had the opportunity to still be in front and have the opportunity to be seen. So it's worked well. It has worked well for us this season.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, again, congratulations on making it to the playoffs. Best of luck with the championship game tomorrow. Shareef Abdul-Rahim, president of the NBA G League, thanks for being with us.