The NBA’s 2021 championship series was nearly a superspreader event, as more than a dozen people linked to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns tested positive for the virus during the Finals, according to an investigation by Rolling Stone. The rash of positive cases was kept hush-hush by officials after the league’s virus protocols relaxed and families climbed on planes to accompany the players. Anxiety shot through the ranks, 17 sources told Rolling Stone, as management grappled with an internal crisis as it attempted to control spiraling case numbers. “It felt like COVID just dropped back out of the sky, out of nowhere, and just tried its best to ruin the Finals,” an official traveling with the Bucks told the magazine.

Eventually, “an alarming number” of people, including vaccinated staffers, family members, entourage figures, and star Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brother and fellow player Thanasis all tested positive. Two officials also said one of the positive cases was an employee whose job it was to keep the Bucks COVID-free. League sources told Rolling Stone the Suns had a number of positive cases, although a high-level official said the team was able to prevent its outbreak from spreading to players and essential staff. “It felt like teams were still playing it day-by-day, trying to skate by at the skin of our teeth,” he said.