Adam Silver: Kyrie Irving Should Get Vaccinated for Himself, His Family and His Team

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving remains unvaccinated, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wishes that would change.

"I'd tell him to get vaccinated, first and foremost for himself and his family," Silver said Tuesday during an appearance on TNT's NBA Tip-Off. "Next, for his teammates and his community and also for the league that I know he cares so much about."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted those who are unvaccinated are 25 times more likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 and eight times more likely to be infected by the virus.

Silver's comments Tuesday echo what he said during Monday's annual preseason news conference:

"We'll see how it plays out. I mean, frankly, I hope that Kyrie sort of—despite how strongly he feels about the vaccination—ultimately decides to get vaccinated, because I'd love to see him play basketball this season, and I'd love to see the Brooklyn Nets have their full complement of players on the floor."

Silver also said he "preferred" there to be a vaccine mandate for players so "we could have avoided a lot of the adversarial nature of these issues."

Because of local mandates in New York regarding indoor arenas, Irving cannot participate in home games. He could have played in some road games, but general manager Sean Marks announced the Nets will not let Irving play for the team unless he can be a full participant.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the seven-time All-Star is not vaccinated because he wants to support people who have lost jobs because of vaccine mandates.