Good morning. Welcome to Axios today. It's Thursday, March 11th. I'm Nyla Boudou.

And I'm Erica Pandy helping out with the news today.

Stay Republicans have introduced a record number of bills targeting transgender kids.

But first, today's one big thing. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver tells us why he decided to shut down

the basketball season one year ago today. It's part of our special series The Week America Change.

The NBA's decision to shut down the season was for many Americans a turning point.

It was the clear sign that life had changed dramatically very quickly. But it didn't feel that way

to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. We began to take COVID seriously, putting aside an immediate

threat to our players. But I know I began to take it seriously in mid-January because of our

presence in China. We have about 200 people in Beijing and Shanghai. And around mid-January,

the head of our China office said, I don't know what you're reading in the US media, but it looks

like we're going to be closing down our office soon. We began to send a series of memos out to our

teams mid to late February, suggesting they put in place certain protocols focused on cleanliness

in their locker rooms to make sure that they are creating germ-free services. We weren't thinking

at that point. It would mean playing with with no fans or even reduced number of fans given that

the possibility this virus might come to the United States. But nobody said to us, you should shut

down your league. I received a call from the general counsel of the NBA. His name is Rick Buchanan.

Rick said, Rudy Gaubert has tested positive. And the game is scheduled to tip in 15 minutes.

Rudy Gaubert had already been isolated from the team because he had these symptoms. But we

realized in that moment that given the game was scheduled to tip in 15 minutes. In fact,

both teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who they were playing in the Utah Jazz, had already taken

the floor to warm up for that night's game. We needed to make an immediate decision. The immediate

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