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The NBA has just announced it's putting its season on hold ... this just minutes after one of its star players tested positive for coronavirus.

The league said in a statement Wednesday ... Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert had contracted COVID-19 -- and in response, it's pausing its season following the conclusion of Wednesday's slate of games.

"The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic," the league said.

The league had reportedly considered making the move earlier Wednesday ... debating whether to suspend the season or play its games without fans. Ultimately, no decision had been made prior to the tip-off of Wednesday's games.

The Golden State Warriors were set to play their game against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in a fan-less arena. However, that game will now take place at a later date.

As for how the league is handling the Jazz and Thunder after it was announced Gobert had the virus ... ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says players from both sides are being quarantined at Oklahoma City's arena.

ESPN had a camera on Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban when he found out about the cancellation -- and it's obvious he was completely shocked by the news.

Joel Osteen's megachurch services will power through the coronavirus crisis -- which has officially been classified a pandemic -- meaning close to 50,000 people will gather to worship with him this weekend.

Sources close to Osteen and his Lakewood Church in Houston tell TMZ ... its 3 scheduled upcoming services -- one Saturday night and 2 Sunday -- are still on, with expected crowds of 16,000 at each service.

We're told the staff is taking recommended precautions, such as sanitizing surfaces and bathrooms and leaving doors propped open so guests don't have to touch them.

On top of that, our sources say church members and all potential attendees are being advised to stay home if they don't feel well, have traveled to areas affected by COVID-19 or been in contact with anyone who has.

We're told Lakewood's plans could change with the developing news, but as of right now ... it's church business as usual for Osteen and his congregation.

Joel's also set to hold a service in Jackson, Mississippi Friday for roughly 7,500.

As for Osteen's "America's Night of Hope" event at Yankee Stadium in May -- which, as we first reported, will feature Kanye West -- there are no plans to cancel or postpone that either.

However, our sources reiterate ... things could change with those plans too.

Buffet-goers in Vegas are outta luck because of coronavirus, but family-style feasters everywhere else in the good ol' U.S. of A. can still get their fix ... for now anyway.

Four of the biggest buffet restaurant chains in the country tell TMZ they have no plans to close up shop amid what is now a global pandemic -- but they're not blind to the concerns about COVID-19. Meaning, they're taking new precautions.

For instance, Golden Corral says it's installed multiple new hand sanitizer stations in most, if not all, of its 500 locations -- and workers are now on a different kinda clock.

A rep tells us GC employees have been instructed to wash their hands a minimum of every 20 minutes, or between tasks. They're also wiping down all guest touchpoint areas every half hour.

The ever-familiar HomeTown, Old Country and Ryan's buffet chains are also following that spic-and-span approach. A rep for Ovation Brands -- which owns and operates all 3 -- says they're going hog wild on the cleaning and sanitizing as well.

Interestingly, Ovation says the reason it's not panicking just yet is because most of their customers are homegrown in the U.S., and not from overseas. That theory seems flawed, though, since there's no telling where those customers have traveled recently.

We're told if things change over the next few weeks -- and it seems obvious they will -- Ovation says it'll reevaluate.

As coronavirus fears skyrocket and the stock market plummets ... Soulja Boy's making a whole lot of money off a pretty clean gamble.

Sources close to the rapper-turned-entrepreneur tell TMZ ... he's invested in a company called The Soap Shop -- which, of course, sells soap products and the like. We're told Soulja went in on a franchise location in Mississippi last year with his manager, CEO Miami Mike.

Our sources say Soulja's trying to diversify and heard it was a good investment opportunity. What he didn't know is how well-timed it was.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has people frantically looking for soaps, disinfectant products and anything that'll kill germs. That all adds up to a massive profit for Soulja and co.

Our sources say TSS as a corporation has gone from selling 100 bottles of cleaning products per month to well over 3,000-plus cleaning products in the last 2 months. That's about a 3,000 percent increase, and we're told it's record-setting production.

Soulja and Mike's specific Soap Shop location -- in South Haven, MS -- is seeing similar results. Our sources say profits have tripled without changing anything.

One last thing, the soap venture actually benefits the youth. Soulja has linked his Soap Shop location to a charity called Bubbles for Cash.

Steve-O's well aware of all the cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, but instead of freaking out ... he's cashing in on an uncrowded market and booking shows.

The "Jackass" star was at Gladstones Restaurant near Malibu, and told us because the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, TX was called off ... a lot of venues suddenly had open dates to fill.

So, Steve-O says his agent asked if he wanted to perform at The Paramount Theatre -- the site of his very first comedy special, and he couldn't turn it down.

Steve-O tells us he's done his due diligence to make sure he wasn't making a poor decision. That meant a call to his good buddy, Dr. Drew.

We broke the story ... Dr. Drew still believes the panic over COVID-19 is overblown and people just need to take precautions and be reasonable.

Sounds like he told Steve-O the same, and gave him his stamp of approval to head deep into the heart of Texas next week.

Steve-O tells us he plans to do meet and greets with anyone who comes to his show, but he's using common sense -- elbow bumps and side hugs only.

President Trump says the United States is suspending all travel to and from Europe for a lengthy period of time ... as the government ratchets ups its response to the deadly pandemic.

Trump says there will be a 30-day travel ban between Europe and the U.S.A starting Friday at midnight ET due to the coronavirus... but he says the United Kingdom will be exempt from the ban.

Other exemptions, Trump says, will be made for Americans who have been screened for the virus.

The OKC Thunder vs. Utah Jazz game has been officially postponed after the match-up was allegedly delayed over Rudy Gobert's illness ... and the scene is straight-up bizarre.

The players were seconds from tip-off at Chesapeake Energy Arena in OKC on Wednesday ... when the refs quickly sent everyone back to their locker-rooms.

The fans were left waiting for an explanation for the delay -- the Thunder broadcast claimed it was due to Gobert's health status and the officials were waiting for the go-ahead to play.

But, that didn't happen ... as the PA announcer officially told the fans to head home "due to unforeseen circumstances" ... adding "we are all safe."

The fans were audibly upset ... booing at the announcement.

The NBA has been working like crazy to keep its players safe during the Coronavirus scare ... even banning the media from the locker-rooms and creating barriers for practice interviews.

It's worth noting -- Gobert (who was listed as questionable due to illness for Wednesday's game) completely disregarded the league's set-up and touched every reporter's recorders at practice just 2 days ago.

The "Making the Band" reboot is gonna be delayed in its search for new talent because upcoming auditions have been called off due to coronavirus.

Sources close to production tell TMZ ... the final 2 open casting calls -- Friday in Charlotte and March 21 in NYC -- have been canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Those would have been the last in-person auditions.

Even more of a bummer -- DaBaby was set to help out at the Charlotte casting call ... and Diddy was going to be at the NYC auditions at MTV Studios. Not anymore.

MTV tells us ... “As a precautionary measure to ensure the health of our production crew, talent and aspiring artists, all public auditions for MTV’s “Making the Band” in Charlotte, NC on March 13-14 and New York City on March 21-22 have been canceled. Safety remains our utmost priority, and we’re continuing to defer to health officials and the CDC for guidance."

The good news ... 'MTB' hopefuls can still submit their auditions online as they have been, they just won't get that up-close-and-personal touch.

We broke the story ... Diddy recruited some big names -- Quavo, Monica and 112 -- to help him recruit potential big names of the future at the open casting call last month in Atlanta.

There were also in-person auditions held last week in Houston, but with the coronavirus fears intensifying -- it looks like that will be the last one.

"Riverdale" is shutting down because someone on the production has a very real concern about coronavirus exposure.

A rep for Warner Bros., which produces the CW show, tells TMZ ... it recently was made aware that a team member from the show recently came in contact with a person -- not on the production -- who tested positive for the coronavirus.

We're told that team member is receiving medical evaluation and out of an abundance of caution, production is currently being suspended. The rep adds, "We are working closely with the appropriate authorities and health agencies in Vancouver (where they shoot) to identify and contact all individuals who may have come into direct contact with our team member."

The news comes shortly after a slew of organizations took extraordinary caution to stem the rapidly-spreading disease. As we reported, the NCAA announced it will ban fans from the tournament.

Dr. Phil says folks who constantly fear getting sick are probably more at risk to contract coronavirus than the average Joe ... but not because of the virus itself.

The good doc came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about what's now a global pandemic and its effect on hypochondria. First off, he dropped some knowledge ... it's now called illness anxiety disorder, and he says people suffering from it are in "their perfect storm."

Phil says the wall-to-wall media coverage of coronavirus not only affirms their worst fears, it actually exacerbates the problem. Watch the clip ... he explains why their immune systems could be compromised by the panic.

Howie Mandel -- who's not a hypochondriac, but famously a germophobe -- showed up for 'AGT' Tuesday looking like most folks with illness anxiety disorder probably feel right about now.

Even more bad news ... Dr. Phil says it's near impossible now to convince them things aren't as bad as they seem.

NCAA President Mark Emmert just announced fans WILL BE BANNED from both the men's and women's basketball tournaments this month ... and it's all 'cause of coronavirus.

"I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance," Emmert said in a statement.

It's shocking news from the org. ... but Emmert said after his consultation with public health officials and the NCAA's COVID-19 advisory panel, it's necessary.

"While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports," Emmert said, "my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States."

"This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes."

The announcement comes just a few hours after the Golden State Warriors said they will play with no fans in their home arena for at least the next two weeks.

The Seattle Mariners, meanwhile, said they will NOT play at home at all in the month of March over fears of the virus.