The suspension of the NBA season due to coronavirus isn’t just affecting players and fans, it’s having a sizeable impact on the pay of thousands of hourly employees at basketball arenas across the country.Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson and Blake Griffin are just some of the players to publicly announce they’re donating thousands of dollars to those employees missing out on pay as the season is indefinitely suspended.

Official Release : 

Hourly employees at Barclays Center are the bedrock of the fan experience in the arena. Whether it's a big smile as fans enter the building or keeping the seats clean or making sure the concession stands are stocked with your favorite items, they are on the frontlines to make our fans feel special. They keep the lights on and the house clean, and they are the first ones to arrive and last ones to leave the building.

The NBA season continues to be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league made the decision on March 11 following a positive test for the virus from Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert. A day later, his teammate Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the virus as well. Christian Wood of the Pistons — who had a career game against Gobert and the Jazz on March 7 — became the third NBA player to test positive over the weekend.

SALT LAKE CITY  -- The Utah Jazz announced Saturday that Rudy Gobert is donating more than $500,000 to support both the employee relief fund at Vivint Smart Home Arena and COVID-related social services relief in Utah, Oklahoma City and within the French health care system.

The NBA announced that its season would be suspended indefinitely Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Later Wednesday, his teammate and fellow All-Star Donovan Mitchell also tested positive, and Detroit Pistons center Christian Wood did so Saturday.

The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets tipped off in what could possibly be the last game in front of fans in the American Airlines Center and put on a dazzling shooting display. The Nuggets looked poised to jump out to a big lead up 27-21, but the Mavericks closed the quarter on a 12-2 scoring run and connected on 7-of-12 from behind the arc to take a 33-29 lead after one.

The Milwaukee Bucks let their backups have the game in this one with 60% of its normal starting lineup unavailable, and the Denver Nuggets played patty cake with them for three quarters before finally putting Milwaukee’s B Team away in the fourth, 109-95. Jamal Murray caught fire at the end of the third with a monster, poster-worthy dunk that was waived off and helped control the Bucks to start the fourth. Nikola Jokic, who had sleepwalked through the first 3 frames woke up for the fourth and finished off the win, while Denver got balanced contributions from Paul Millsap, Jerami Grant, Will Barton and Gary Harris. For a contender it wasn’t the beatdown it should have been, but the Nuggets did what they needed to and got out with a much-needed win.