Report: 'Some' NBA Players Skeptical NBA Will Be Able to Finish The Season amid COVID

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns across the NBA, there are questions about how the rest of the 2021-22 season will play out.

Per The Athletic's David Aldridge, there's "skepticism among some players" that the league will be able to finish the season.

"There is great concern about the higher transmission rate of Omicron than Delta, even though preliminary trials seem to indicate Omicron is less lethal than Delta was," Aldridge wrote. "And, going into Christmas Week, players obviously want to know how infectious they are if they come in close contact with loved ones."

According to DallasBasketball.com, as of 4 p.m. ET Sunday, there were 71 players in the NBA's health and safety protocols.

The league had to postpone five games from Sunday through Tuesday because of teams not having enough players to field a roster. The Chicago Bulls had two games postponed last week after a COVID outbreak.

Aldridge added: "Players wonder, if they feel reasonably good after contracting Omicron, and are not debilitated, why they still have to sit out seven days."

Per the protocols agreed upon before the start of the season, any player who tests positive, regardless of vaccination status and if they are asymptomatic, is required to sit out at least seven days.

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Per Aldridge: "With somewhere between 60-65 percent of NBA players who've been fully vaccinated also having received their boosters, shots in arms aren't the issue anymore."

Because of the spike in players in health and safety protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to allow teams to sign one replacement player for each player who tests positive through Jan. 19.

There has been no indication at this point the league is considering suspending the season.