One of the greatest NBA players in history is not going to play basketball in empty arenas.

LA Lakers forward LeBron James made the comment when asked about the possibility of the league continuing the season without live fans, due to the novel coronavirus

"We play games without the fans? No, it's impossible. I ain't playing," James declared.

That prompted laughter from the sports reporters.

But James seemed entirely serious.

"If you ain't got the fans in the crowd, that's who I play for."

Moments later, he said: "If I show up to an arena and there ain't no fans there, I ain't playing. So, they can do what they want to do."

As of March 5, reports of 164 Americans contracting COVID-19 and 11 novel coronavirus deaths had been filed to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

In Italy where the prevalence of the virus is more common, pro soccer has taken place in empty stadiums.

In France, the government has prohibited public gatherings of more than 5,000 people in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.