Former United States surgeon general Vivek Murthy spoke to the NBA's Board of Governors during a conference call on Tuesday, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Murthy conveyed the opinion that the United States was putting millions of potential deaths due to COVID-19 had the county not taken dramatic measures to quarantine the population, including large gatherings such as NBA games.
The message left owners with hope of resuming the 19-20 season before the start of July, according to sources that spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
"Basically, [Dr. Murthy] said: The only good news is that people are starting to stay home," one high-ranking league official told ESPN. "No one left that call thinking we could be playing anytime soon."