NBA lays out plan for players who recovered from COVID-19 but test positive
By Kurt HelinJul 15, 2020, 2:58 PM EDT
Orlando's James Ennis did it today, Denver's Nikola Jokic and Sacramento's Buddy Hield have already done it, and over the coming weeks more NBA players will follow this path, including stars such as Russell Westbrook: Players who recovered from COVID-19 will return to play in the NBA restart in Orlando.
But what happens if that recovered player tests positive for the coronavirus in the bubble? Would they miss several games while quarantined and more tests are run?
It would be a false positive and the NBA sent a memo to teams about this topic Wednesday, a memo obtained by multiple media outlets (but broken by Malika Andrews and ESPN). Here's the heart of it, via Mark Medina and Jeff Zillgett of the USA Today.
The memo, which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports, said that "an individual who has recovered from COVID-19 but who returns a PCR test with an inconclusive result or a CT value beyond the level of detection [a positive test] will not be quarantined or otherwise restricted from participating with their team based on this test result" so long as various protocols are met.
Those stipulations? The person had received two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart; returned a positive antibody results within the past 30 days; takes a rapid antigen test and returns a negative result; and is at least 14 days removed from receiving a first positive test and remains asymptomatic.
This has come up because it has happened once, according to ESPN. That led to questions from other teams about a plan.
People who have had and recovered from the coronavirus could have dead coronavirus cells in their bodies that would lead to a positive test, but they have developed antibodies that can fight off the disease. Studies have shown sicker patients developing more antibodies. All that provides people with some immunity, at least in the short term of several months (it is not yet known if that immunity fades over time and makes people susceptible to getting the disease again, only because the virus itself is so new). For the purpose of the NBA and the Orlando restart, the recovered players should have the antibodies to be immune.
The concern from teams, during a restart with a compacted schedule, is that key players would miss multiple games — particularly playoff games — because of a false positive test. This new protocol accounts for that.
The NBA went into the unprecedented restart knowing they would need to adapt some rules on the fly. This is one of them.
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1) Is Nikola Jokić going to win third straight MVP?
That's a weird headline to write just days after Joel Embiid outplayed Nikola Jokić head-to-head. Embiid absolutely is in the MVP mix again this season — 33.6 points and 10 rebounds per game with strong defense will do that — and that 47-point game is the kind of thing that sticks in voters' minds. Jayson Tatum, Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo are in there, too (not sure Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry will play enough games to win the award).
But Jokić is averaging a triple-double this season — 25.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10 assists — and his team is in first place in the West. It's a season worthy of a third straight MVP. If someone is going to dethrone him, well, you come at the king, you best not miss.
Jokić had 28 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists on 10-of-14 shooting in the Nuggets' win over the Pelicans on Tuesday night — Denver is now 16-0 this season when Jokić has a triple-double.
The Nuggets duo got it done in their home W ⛏️
Jamal Murray:
32 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 7 Threes
Nikola Jokic:
26 PTS, 18 REB, 15 AST pic.twitter.com/kQ6aSdKaL8
— NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2023
Heading into the season there was a sense MVP voters would be hesitant to make it a historic three straight MVPs for Jokić — putting him in Larry Bird and Bill Russell territory — when the Nuggets haven't been to the Finals yet. However, Denver sits atop the West and looks like a contender with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy.
Plus, Jokić's numbers are undeniable — the Nuggets are 20.2 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court this season. They win because of him, Denver gets outscored by 8.5 points per 100 when he is off the court. And we're not going to dive into EPM, VORP and the rest of the advanced stats, just know they love Jokić like no other, too.
Jokić may not win his third MVP, there are other deserving guys in the mix and we have 30+ games to go this season. Just don't be shocked if he does, he has been that good.
2) LeBron has historic night as he chases big his historic night
LeBron James is now just 89 points short of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He probably passes KAJ next week, Abdul-Jabbar has 38,387 career points, LeBron is now at 38,299.
First he made some history on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. LeBron had a triple-double of 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, making him the first player in NBA history to have a triple-double in his 20th season.
More impressively, with those 11 assists he moved past both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash into fourth on the NBA's career assists list. Think about that for a second, the league's all-time leading scorer is fourth in assists, too.
LeBron tonight in the Lakers W:
👑 28 PTS
👑 10 REB
👑 11 AST
👑 Moves to 4th all-time in assists
👑 1st player ever with triple-double in season 20
89 points to the all-time scoring record. pic.twitter.com/urkL55I9YI
The Lakers couldn't hold on to a late lead in regulation — LeBron missed a couple of long jumpers that could have sealed the win — and Los Angeles needed overtime to get the 129-123 victory. They needed it after dropping two games to start this road trip. Anthony Davis moved back into the starting lineup and the Lakers need to string together a few weeks of wins to climb back into the play-off — or even the play-in mix — or all this history by LeBron will be squandered by the franchise.
3) Banchero, Henderson lead group that will make Rising Stars worth watching
The Rising Stars challenge is often the forgotten child of All-Star weekend. It takes place on Friday night and isn't all that interesting.
This year may be different — a deep cast of talent will play in the new format that was a hit last season. The 28 players will be divided into four teams of seven, with those four teams going into a tournament bracket. The games were not timed, but players competed to a target score of 40 — something that last season led to the young stars defending and playing hard. It was entertaining.
Here's the list of who will be playing:
Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons), AJ Griffin (Atlanta Hawks), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers), Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings), Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers), Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston Rockets), Jeremy Sochan (San Antonio Spurs), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Jose Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans), Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets), Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks), Bones Hyland (Denver Nuggets), Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic)
The G-League team will consist of:
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite), Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite), Mojave King (G League Ignite), Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Memphis Hustle), Mac McClung (Deleware Blue Coats), Leonard Miller (G League Ignite), Scotty Pippen Jr. (South Bay Lakers)
It's a group worth watching on Friday night (Feb. 17) of All-Star weekend.
Here is more on the Nuggets
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