Landry Shamet: Vote to End Season Wasn't Clippers Not Wanting to Play Basketball

Los Angeles Clippers guard Landry Shamet provided insight Thursday into why the team voted against continuing the playoffs.

During an appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast with New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick, Shamet said: "That vote wasn't us saying we don't want to play basketball; it was just simply a poll of what we thought was best to do."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers both voted against continuing the postseason, although it was considered more of a poll than an official vote, as Shamet referenced.

The NBA postponed the playoff games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday because players were sitting out as a protest against social injustice, racial inequality and police brutality in the wake of the police shooting of 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this week.

Wojnarowski reported Thursday the NBA's players officially voted to continue the playoffs.

During his interview with Redick, Shamet expressed his belief that more players may not have wanted to continue the playoffs amid the social and racial unrest in the United States, but they were afraid to speak up in front of their peers.

Shamet also said when he went to bed Wednesday night, his expectation was that the playoffs would not continue.

Had the Clippers and Lakers held firm to their initial poll results, it would have been difficult for the playoffs to proceed.

The Clippers hold a 3-2 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks in their first-round playoff series, and the Lakers are up 3-1 on the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers and Clippers were the top two teams in the Western Conference all year long and are favored to meet in the Western Conference Finals.

While the unique environment inside the NBA bubble in Orlando could lead to some unexpected results, the Lakers and Clippers are still the teams to beat in the West now that the season is set to resume.