NBA fans can now let out a huge sigh of relief, as the league confirmed that the 2020 NBA playoffs will officially resume on Saturday.
Following the distressing events of Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, there was an initial fear that season will be canceled entirely due to the players’ decision to boycott the games.
The tragedy hit close to home to the league’s no.1 team Milwaukee Bucks, as they spearheaded the boycott by refusing to emerge out of the tunnel in Game 5 against the Magic on Wednesday. The NBA brass decided to postpone the rest of the scheduled games that day.
Initially slated to take place on Wednesday, the first-round series games involving the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers have been moved to Saturday.
Thursday’s supposed scheduled games between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, as well as Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, will take place on Sunday.
Concerns of a lost season intensified when championship frontrunners, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, voted for the cancelation of the campaign in protest towards another injustice involving an African-American civilian. Superstars LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard were reportedly strongly against continuing the season, given the current state of the country outside the bubble.
With two of the biggest stars in the game already wanting out, fans and pundits believed this could influence the rest of the NBA population to follow suit. After a series of closed-door meetings with league brass and the National Basketball Players’ Association, the two sides have come to an agreement to carry on the rest of the campaign. NBA legend Michael Jordan reportedly played a big role in persuading the players to continue playing ball.
The NBA, meanwhile, has been the most vocal sports organization in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
This season has already been threatened by the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s nice to see the NBA weather yet another storm.
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