Four members of the Brooklyn Nets, including Kevin Durant, tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The NBA now as at least seven confirmed cases during the coronavirus outbreak in North America.
Only Durant confirmed that he tested positive for coronavirus, and the other three players who are infected remain unknown as the Nets have not released their names. Everyone, including Durant, is in isolation and only one player has exhibited signs of sickness.
“The health of our players and staff is of the highest priority to the organization and the team is doing everything within its power to ensure that those affected receive the best care possible,” said the Nets in a statement.
The LA Lakers, the Nets’ last opponent, were told to self-quarantine and seek out testing.
NBA Players with COVID-19
Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)
Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)
Christian Wood (Detroit Pistons)
Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
3 other members of the Brooklyn Nets
Durant, 31, hasn’t suited up for the Nets since signing with the team in the offseason. He’s been recovering from a torn Achilles, which occurred during the 2019 NBA Finals. His bad luck continued with the coronavirus diagnosis.
“Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine,” Durant told The Athletic. “We’re going to get through this.”
The Brooklyn Nets (30-34) were in the thick of the playoff hunt before the NBA shut down the league after Gobert became the first player to test positive. Brooklyn held on to the #7 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, despite playing four games under .500.
The Nets and head coach Kenny Atkinson “parted ways” with 20 games remaining. Atkinson claimed he’d lost the locker room and was only postponing the inevitable.
Chandler Lobby Snub
It sounds like a plot from a Seinfeld episode, but Wilson Chandler got the frosty shoulder from his fellow New Yorkers. While New York City has shut down, everyone was told to work from home. That includes professional basketball players like Chandler.
The veteran small forward drew the ire of his neighbors in his Brooklyn Heights building after word that members of the Nets tested positive. The building manager asked Chandler to avoid common areas, including the lobby.
“Didn’t even ask was I ok, one,” tweeted Chandler. “And two, she didn’t ask me if I had been tested and if it was negative or positive. F–k this building man. I’m going home.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been overrun by the coronavirus outbreak. The fact that the Nets were tested over sick New Yorkers irked him.
“We wish them a speedy recovery. But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested,” de Blasio tweeted. “Tests should not be for the wealthy, but for the sick.”
The New York Times reported that New York state has 2,380 reported cases of coronavirus, with 1,339 confirmed cases in New York City.