The NBA is seeing a massive spike in COVID-19 related cases. NBA Super stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are among some of the names recently placed in the league's health and safety protocols. On Thursday, it was announced that Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox is the next player to join that list.
De'Aaron Fox has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/5541KUnBd4
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) December 16, 2021
During the course of the first six weeks of the season, only 16 players were placed into the league's COVID health and safety protocols. In the two weeks since, that number has more than doubled as 35 more players have entered the protocols.
When a player is placed on the league's COVID health and safety protocol list, they are sidelined for a minimum of 10 days. However, if the player can test negative back to back PCR tests, they could return to the court.
The Kings are far from the only team impacted. The Chicago Bulls have been impacted more than any team in the league. They have had two of their games postponed due to as many as 10 players entering the COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
The Brooklyn Nets have also been hit hard, with seven of their players placed on the list. The Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks each have four players.
Along with De'Aaron Fox, the Kings also have placed Marvin Bagley Jr. and head coach Alvin Gentry on the list. As the season heads into winter, this might only be the beginning of issues facing the league. NBA games can only be suspended if a team has less than eight players available. It appears as though the league is headed in that direction.
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