Report: NBA supporting coronavirus study for antibodies using blood tests

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The NBA is supporting a study by the Mayo Clinic that uses blood testing to detect potential coronavirus antibodies, reports The Athletic's Shams Charania.

The study would help understand how prevalent the coronavirus is within players and staff as well as potentially contribute to a COVID-19 vaccine, Charania adds.

Antibodies are certain proteins produced by a person's immune system in response to an infection and can be "especially important for detecting previous infections with few or no symptoms," according to the CDC.

This is believed to be the second coronavirus study that has received support from the NBA. In late March, personnel across the league who had recovered from COVID-19 were reportedly asked to donate plasma as part of the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project.