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The NBA has reached a vaccination threshold of 95% of its players, reflecting a steady increase since training camps opened this week, league sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The increase – which includes players who have received at least one vaccine, sources said – comes as unvaccinated players brace for lost wages for games missed in the Bay Area and New York due to warrants. local governments.
The story of unvaccinated players like Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving and Washington’s Bradley Beal consumed the news cycle surrounding the opening of training camps on Monday, but the teams say a number of factors – including continuing education on vaccine safety – helped increase player participation.
Towards the opening of training camps, the NBA had about 90% of its players vaccinated.
The NBA and the Players Association have agreed to strict policies for unvaccinated players this season, including the realities of significant isolation from teammates and staff.
Protocols will require unvaccinated players to be subject to many of the same restrictions that the entire league played under for the vast majority of last season, before the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.
Vaccinated players, on the other hand, will have far fewer restrictions. For example, all fully vaccinated players, as well as Level 1 staff – coaches and anyone else working regularly within 15 feet of players and referees, all of whom have already been commissioned to get vaccinated – will not have not have to undergo daily tests. .
Teams have also been instructed to ensure that the seating arrangement prevents players who are not fully vaccinated from sitting together.
One thing that will be consistent for both vaccinated and unvaccinated players is the use of face masks, which protocols state that everyone should wear at all times at team facilities, when traveling with the team and when otherwise required by federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances.
Most of the team’s staff, as well as NBA referees, should be vaccinated.
In addition to Irving, it has emerged that Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins may be barred from participating in home games this season due to executive orders in San Francisco and New York that require people to be fully vaccinated to be allowed inside for entertainment.
Orders only apply to players who play in these markets; non-market players are exempt. Players who are forced to miss matches due to these decrees will not be paid for the matches they miss.
Wiggins’ request for a religious exemption was rejected by the league.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes and Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
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