The NBA has officially postponed all three playoff games that were scheduled for Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks did not take the floor against the Orlando Magic in light of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee's decision to boycott resulted in a domino effect. The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder announced they were also boycotting, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers apparently ready to arrive at the same decision.
As a result, the NBA announced it would be rescheduling all three of the Game 5's originally scheduled to be played today.
All games are postponed and will be rescheduled. https://t.co/LskpN82x35
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 26, 2020
The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics—scheduled to begin their second-round series on Thursday—had initiated conversations about potentially boycotting Game 1 of their matchup.
But despite those conversations, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA and team executives were not prepared for the events that transpired on Wednesday.
“The NBA, owners and front offices didn't see this wave of player boycotts coming today,” Wojnarowski said on Twitter. “Hours ago, they all expected to be playing these games tonight. This is a pivot point for the NBA and professional sports in North America.
Indeed, it remains to be seen what the status of the NBA playoffs is moving forward. It seems unlikely the league can expect players to want to compete on Thursday or even within the week.
Perhaps cancelation is a possibility. The players made a promise to keep social justice issues at the forefront and speak up for Black Americans.
Blake became another example of police violence perpetrated against the Black community over this weekend. Suddenly, basketball simply does not feel important.
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