Sacramento Kings small forward Jabari Parker made headlines for the wrong reasons last weekend when he was seen playing tennis in Chicago without a mask following his positive COVID-19 test.
Even though Parker completed his two week isolation period, Kings head coach Luke Walton said the former No. 2 overall pick made a mistake by playing tennis.
The Kings will be among the 22 teams partaking in the “bubble” games down in Orlando, Florida.
Jabari Parker, Buddy Hield and Alex Len all tested positive for COVID-19, but none of them have dropped out for the resumption of the season yet.
To make the 2020 playoffs and end their long postseason drought, the Kings will have to compile a better record than the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs during the seeding games.
The Kings will face the Spurs, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, Pelicans (twice), Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento's first game is on July 31 against the Spurs.
Parker played in 33 games in 2019-20 before the season was suspended. However, he only appeared in one game with the Kings following his trade from the Atlanta Hawks. The Chicago native underwent a non-surgical procedure on his shoulder.
Jabari has career NBA averages of 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 280 games with the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Hawks and Kings.