Guard Kyrie Irving was just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets needed to escape their mid-season slump.
However, Irving can only provide it on a part-time basis, as his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 means that he cannot play in New York City.
For now, Irving plans to enjoy every chance he gets on the road.
Photo: AFP
“I know what the consequences were. I still know what they are,” Irving said on Wednesday. “But right now, I’m just going to take it one day at a time, like I said, and just enjoy this time that I get to play with my guys.”
Irving scored 22 points in his first game of the season, helping the Nets rally for a 129-121 road victory over the Indiana Pacers.
After being held out of the team’s first 35 games because he refused to get vaccinated, Irving started and played 32 minutes in his highly anticipated season debut.
“The game of basketball is happy to have him back,” teammate and close friend Kevin Durant said.
Irving is unable to play at home because of New York City’s vaccination mandate and had been unwelcome on the road.
The Nets did not want a part-time player, so they sent him away during the pre-season.
However, things changed — a COVID-19 outbreak has left the Nets severely short-handed and they decided that having the superstar half of the time was a better option than signing lesser players to 10-day hardship contracts.
On Wednesday, Irving made it look like the right decision.
“It felt like he’s been playing all season,” fellow All-Star guard James Harden said.
The Nets had lost three straight, all at home, but there is nothing Irving can do about the Nets’ struggles in Brooklyn if he remains unvaccinated. The vaccine is mandated for New York City athletes playing in public venues.
However, he can play in road games in the cities where there is no mandate, including all of the upcoming ones during a stretch that has the Nets away for seven of 11 games.
“Like I said earlier in the season, it’s not an ideal situation and I’m always praying that things get figured out and we’re able to come to some collective agreement,” Irving said. “I think everybody’s feeling it and so I don’t want to make it simply about me and simply about somebody lessening the rules for me.”
Irving’s situation is extremely rare in professional sports, as the NBA has said that 97 percent of its players are fully vaccinated.
This would basically mean that no more than 15 players in the league are unvaccinated, Irving presumably among them.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
‧ 76ers 116, Magic 106
‧ Jazz 115, Nuggets 109
‧ Heat 115, Trail Blazers 109
‧ Mavericks 99, Warriors 82
‧ Raptors 117, Bucks 111
‧ Spurs 99, Celtics 97
‧ Hornets 140, Pistons 111
‧ Rockets 114, Wizards 111
‧ Timberwolves 98, Thunder 90
‧ Hawks 108, Kings 102
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