The NBA is launching its draft combine this week

In a pre-coronavirus world, the NBA would have been starting training camp for the 2020-21 regular season around this time. The Washington Wizards would have media day at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights, the team will train and preseason games would begin very soon after that.

But the coronavirus pandemic caused a four month stoppage in play during the 2019-20 NBA season. The NBA Finals will start on Wednesday between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. And the Draft has been delayed to Nov. 18 to give teams time to evaluate prospects.

To help teams evaluate prospects, and to give the prospects an opportunity to show their skillsets, the NBA has started its combine today and it will run through November, according to a league release last week.

At the combine, Prospects will be measured and take drills at the NBA team facility closest to his residence, all of which will be conducted virtually so all teams can see without going to a central location. So the Wizards’ practice facility will hold combine events for prospects who live in the Washington, D.C. area or in the general Mid-Atlantic region.

All of the videos of each prospect can be up to 45 minutes long. The information that NBA teams have in this combine will incorporate more data gathering than in years past. They have expanded their use of Combine HQ, a scouting software platform that allows them to gather data on prospects they are interested in, and comparing that prospect to others and current players.

This year’s NBA Draft Combine and evaluation process has been protracted due to the coronavirus. But fortunately, we now have a more definite timeframe on how things will proceed as we head into November to find out who will make up the next rookie class.