Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has yet to waver on his decision to remain unvaccinated for COVID-19 despite mounting pressure from the NBA. New York City mandates require all Nets players to be vaccinated to play at Barclays Center, and if Irving does not get the jab, the league has determined he (and every other unvaccinated player in a market with these laws) will miss out on a portion of his salary for every home game in which he does not play. The latest reporting from ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks reveals that for every game missed, a player will see a reduction in pay of 1/91.6th of their salary. For Irving, that's around $381,000 per game.

That's quite a chunk of change. even for a max player like Irving. If he were to remain steadfast in his choice for the entirety of the regular season (41 Nets home games missed), that comes out to around $15.6 million, just under half his overall salary for the season. It's quite the incentive to get the shot.

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins had also been denying the vaccine until recently, but Head Coach Steve Kerr confirmed on Sunday that he had received the jab. San Francisco's mandates are along the same lines as New York City's, meaning Wiggins would've been subject to the same reduction in salary that Irving is facing. It is unclear if this pay cut was Wiggins' primary motivation for finally accepting the shot, but it stands to reason given the timing. Perhaps this decision by the league will finally sway Irving, though he doesn't exactly seem like the type to give in easily.

His Nets teammate Kevin Durant says he's not worried about the dilemma.

I expect us to have our whole team at some point,” he said at media day last week.