NBA restart: 10 NBA Twitter accounts to follow from inside the bubble
Five players and five reporters to follow for NBA news and a glimpse at quarantine life from the bubble in Orlando, Florida.
Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Matisse Thybulle is shooting hoops and video in Orlando.
The NBA will resume its season on July 30, roughly four and a half months after shutting down in mid-March when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. All games will be played in Orlando, Florida where players, coaches and team personnel, along with select NBA reporters, are sequestered in the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex inside Disney World. The top 22 of the league's 30 teams will play eight games each in Orlando to knock off the rust and establish playoff seeding. The NBA playoffs will then run from mid-August to mid-October.
Scrimmages have begun, as the 22 teams playing in Orlando are working out and getting back into game shape. Several players have opted out of playing, but those that have decided to play in this strangest of NBA seasons are learning that life inside the bubble presents its own set of challenges and routines. If you want to keep up with NBA news and get a glimpse of life inside the bubble, here are five players and five NBA writers to follow on Twitter .
The starting 5
Here are five current NBA players who are active on Twitter from the bubble and podcasting, posting YouTube videos or streaming from their hotel rooms on Twitch .
JJ Reddick: @jj_redick
Pelicans shooting guard and podcast host JJ Reddick is golfing, shotgunning beers and recording podcasts from inside the bubble.
Sorry meant to post this earlier. Multitasking post practice. @budlight @NBABubbleLife pic.twitter.com/pBsau1SHoQ
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) July 12, 2020
Matisse Thybulle: @MatisseThybulle
When not shooting hoops, Sixers rookie shooting guard Matisse Thybulle is shooting video to document his time in Orlando with a YouTube series.
Just launched a new @youtube! Episode 1 of my new #NBABubble series called #WelcomeToTheBubble just dropped. I shot and edited the entire thing. More episodes coming soon. https://t.co/RL6MI25HWo pic.twitter.com/uElXMh7rVI
— Matisse Thybulle (@MatisseThybulle) July 11, 2020
Terrence Ross: @TerrenceRoss
Terrence Ross of the Orlando Magic is also reporting from inside the bubble with his own podcast. In addition to bringing his podcast equipment to Orlando, Ross also packed his PS4 and Xbox and streams on Twitch.
Check us out, dropping at noon on iTunes and Spotify 🤘🏾🤘🏾🤘🏾 https://t.co/O4ZPg41wTo
— Terrence Ross (@TerrenceRoss) July 8, 2020
Luka Dončić: @luka7doncic
Luka Dončić and Boban Marjanović need their own show.
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) July 10, 2020
JR Smith: @TheRealJRSmith
JR Smith is back! The Los Angeles Lakers recently signed the shooting guard, reuniting him with LeBron James, his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. You'll need to catch Smith live on Instagram for his thoughts on his accommodations in Orlando, but he's on Twitter a bunch with his bubble thoughts and Twitch streams.
First look at J.R. Smith's (@TheRealJRSmith) workouts as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers 👀 pic.twitter.com/LMNJlmLgu8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 7, 2020
The scribe 5
Only a handful of NBA reporters were allowed inside the bubble to cover the players, games and life under NBA quarantine. Four of the five below are reporting from Orlando. The fifth is ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, aka Woj, who is back to covering the NBA after a two-week suspension. There is no one more connected for covering the NBA and hopefully now that he's back he'll soon return to dropping #wojbombs.
Marc Stein: @TheSteinLine
The New York Times's NBA reporter is in Orlando and breaking news.
Quarantine for media members is seven days -- compared to 48 hours for everyone in team traveling parties -- because A) media members are traveling commercially and B) we were not tested regularly for two weeks before arriving in Florida like teams were doing in their facilities
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 12, 2020
Brad Townsend: @townbrad
Townsend covers the Mavericks for the Dallas Morning News and is one of a handful of reporters inside the bubble.
Enter the bubble: The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend joins few others to cover the NBA’s return from inside Disney World https://t.co/ikly8tcE9q
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) July 13, 2020
Ben Golliver: @BenGolliver
Golliver is an NBA writer for the Washington Post and reporting from inside the bubble.
Locked & quarantined in an @NBA media @WaltDisneyWorld hotel room for the next seven days. Ready or not? pic.twitter.com/DEW2kypRjF
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 12, 2020
Joe Vardon: @joevardon
Vardon covers the NBA for The Athletic and wrote about quarantine life in Orlando.
Inside the NBA Bubble: The beginning of the last, great American sportswriting assignment. Join me, won’t you? @TheAthleticNBA https://t.co/WOWxK3qjuy
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) July 13, 2020
Adrian Wojnarowski: @wojespn
NBA insider Woj was not in Orlando after ESPN suspended him for his profane, two-word reply to a US senator. Now that he's back, and expected to join his colleagues in the bubble at some point, there is no one who breaks more NBA news on Twitter.