A total of seven NBA players have now been tested positive from the dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19), as Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and three unnamed teammates were confirmed to have been infected as well on Tuesday.
As relayed by ESPN senior writer Ramona Shelbourne, NBA spokesman Mike Bass addressed the alarming crisis, saying the league is now pushing for all teams to receive coronavirus tests.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass on NBA teams receiving Coronavirus tests. pic.twitter.com/rKOdhiCCw4
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) March 18, 2020
The NBA postponed the ongoing 2019-20 regular season last week, following the positive diagnosis of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. His teammate Donovan Mitchell’s results also came back positive, as with Detroit Pistons center Christian Wood who defended Gobert during their match-up prior to his diagnosis.
Symptoms of the highly-contagious disease can take up to 10 days to emerge, while some infected individuals show no symptoms at all. Kevin Durant’s case, meanwhile, is particularly alarming considering he did not even play a single second this season. The injured one-time MVP, however, remains in close proximity with his teammates during games.
Durant and the other two Nets players were reportedly asymptomatic, while only one of the four showed clear signs of the illness.
The COVID-19 virus, meanwhile, has already claimed a lot lives around the world — particularly the elderly. NBA players testing positive only shows that anyone can get infected, even the most conditioned athletes on the planet.
The five NBA teams who played the Jazz over the last 10 days — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and Detroit Pistons — have all been tested and are in isolation. The Nets were not on that list and it remains to be seen if more players will test positive in the coming days.
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