Windhorst: 'Around 150' NBA Players in Miami for All-Star Weekend; NBA Worried
March 9, 2021
As the NBA prepares to start the second half of the season on Wednesday, the league is reportedly concerned about a large group of players who were in Miami during the All-Star break.
On Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective Podcast, Windhorst said the NBA is worried because "around 150" players were in South Florida over the weekend (starts at 11:45 mark):
"And the reason the NBA knows is because the players have to have COVID tests while they're there and they had to sign up for them. So the NBA had an accurate count of how many and ... this was two days ago, maybe it's grown, I was told it was in the neighborhood of 150 players were in Miami over the weekend. The testing site, which I think, I don't know for sure, but I think was at the Heat's facility, I mean that's where their apparatus is set up. They had to give the players a schedule. Like, it was drive-thru and they had to have multiple lanes and they had to give the players a schedule, like come at this time to get your COVID test, because otherwise they couldn't handle the crush."
There were concerns when the NBA originally announced plans for an All-Star Game about the possibility of people in the league being exposed to COVID-19.
"I just think under these circumstances with what we're going through still with the pandemic and everything with the season, I just thought we could've looked at it a little bit differently. But that's out of my hands. I can only control what I can control," LeBron James told reporters on Sunday.
The NBA announced Monday that there were no positive COVID-19 tests among players, coaches or game officials coming out of the event.
Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were removed from the game on Sunday after having contact with a person who tested positive.
The league did take steps to limit the potential for players, coaches and officials to be exposed. Players were flown to Atlanta on Saturday and had to remain in their hotel except for when they went to State Farm Arena for the All-Star event.