Irving, Wiggins could miss teams' home games

NEW YORK • Brooklyn Nets seven-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving remains unvaccinated, a situation that could prohibit him from playing in home games, Fox Sports reported on Thursday.

Local regulations in New York City and San Francisco prohibit players from playing and practising in their home arenas without proof of at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, unless they have an approved exemption, medical or religious.

That is according to a memo the National Basketball Association (NBA) sent to every team earlier this month, which was obtained by Fox Sports. The memo affects the Nets, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.

An unvaccinated player on one of those rosters would miss all 41 of his team's home games unless exempted.

Nets general manager Sean Marks revealed earlier this week that not every Nets player is vaccinated, without addressing Irving or any other player specifically.

"Regarding if they could play today, I can't comment on who could play and so forth," he said.

"There would obviously be a couple of people missing from that picture.

"I won't get into who it is, but we feel confident in the following several days before camp, that everybody would be allowed to participate and so forth.

"I think we all understand what's at stake and we've had very candid conversations. Those are individual decisions, whether it's a staff member or a player that has to come to terms with (it), it's obviously out of our control."

The Nets open camp in San Diego next week and play their first pre-season game in Los Angeles, where there are no such regulations.

The Warriors are also going through a similar issue with Andrew Wiggins, who has been steadfast against receiving the vaccine.

Citing league sources, the San Francisco Chronicle and ESPN said the team's starting forward had not changed his mind about getting the vaccine since comments he made earlier this year.

In March, Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft and the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year, said: "To each his own, really. Whoever wants to get it, can get it; whoever doesn't want to get it, don't get it.

"Right now, I'm not getting it, but it's no knock on anyone else that's getting it. I make my own decisions. But right now, I decided not to get it."

The Chronicle added that the Warriors put him in touch with an Oakland physician to discuss his hesitancy, but Wiggins did not change his position.

According to The Athletic, about 10 per cent of the NBA's roughly 500 players remain unvaccinated.

REUTERS