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Bet on Which League Will Be First to Resume Regular Season – NBA and MLB Given Best Odds

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in News

Updated Mar 30, 2020 · 1:59 PM PDT

Wide angle shot of Fenway Park in Boston
Which North American sports league will be the first to end its coronavirus pause? MLB and NBA are +200 co-favorites. Photo by Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (Flickr).
  • Coronavirus has put every major North American sports league on pause
  • The NBA and MLB are the +200 co-favorites to resume their regular seasons first
  • Analysis of all of the odds, picks and predictions is provided below

The NBA was the first of the major North American sports to make the move. MLB was the last.

Which one will be the first to come back? That’s the prop wager bettors can wager on today.

By Thursday afternoon, almost all big-league North American sports took the option to pause their seasons due to the anticipated coronavirus impact.

The NBA and MLB are co-favorites to win this race at +200.

Odds on Which Sport Will Play a Regular-Season or Playoff Game First

League Odds
MLB +200
NBA +200
NHL +210
MLS +375

Odds taken March 12th. Based on the day of the first game. If two leagues play their first game on the same day, wagers will be settled as no action.

The NHL is narrowly behind the MLB and NBA at +210.

NBA Will Play Waiting Game

The NBA was the first to call a halt to its season. The league made the announcement Wednesday night. That revelation was made public shortly after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.

Since then, a second player, Utah guard Donovan Mitchell, has also come up with a positive test result. They are the first North American pro athletes to contract the disease. Players from teams that played the Jazz over the past 10 days are also currently being tested.

Speculation is that the NBA will take a 30-day break and then reassess the situation. The decision to halt the season was taken so abruptly by Commissioner Adam Silver that no long-term plan was outlined.

Thursday morning, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested that the league could opt for an extended season that runs into August.

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MLB Opts For Two-Week Break

Major League Baseball was the last of the big four pro sports currently in-season to make a coronavirus precautionary call. They were contesting spring-training games on Thursday.

Later in the day, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that MLB would cancel spring training and take a two-week break until opening day.

They announced that a number of contingency plans were in place but declined to go into specifics.

NHL Shuts Down Indefinitely

After originally discussing playing in empty arenas, the NHL also opted for an indefinite pause to the season following a Thursday meeting of its Board of Governors.

The league shares arenas and locker rooms with NBA teams. No doubt the positive tests of the Jazz players played a role in this decision.

MLS Takes 30-Day Break

Thursday, Major League Soccer also announced it was taking a 30-day break to assess the impact of the coronavirus.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber described the decision as a temporary suspension of the season.

Who’s Coming Back First?

Of the four leagues, only the NHL isn’t opting for a ballpark figure on a proposal to return to action.

Among these organizations, the NBA is the one that tends to make the most well thought-out and responsible decisions. Plus, they have time on their hands. Basketball can be played as a summer sport.

Hockey can’t. Ice conditions in warmer weather are notoriously poor.

Baseball loves to talk about the sanctity of the 162-game season, so MLB can’t wait too long to throw out the first pitch. And they can move games to warm-weather locales.

Pick: MLB (+200)

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