ESPN Reports NBA Players Will Resume Playoffs After Wednesday Strike
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA Playoffs will resume after the league announced Wednesday night’s three playoff games had been canceled.
The entire NBA, along with other leagues like the MLB and WNBA, postponed their scheduled games on Wednesday after their players boycotted playing.
The unprecedented move came after the Milwaukee Bucks announced on Wednesday afternoon that they would be sitting out that evening’s playoff game in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, which erupted after an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot seven times in the back by a police officer.
Late Wednesday, it was reported that the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, two of the top contending teams in the league, did not want to continue the rest of the playoffs at all. Other teams in the league were not ready to call off the season, leading to a reported impasse during which LeBron James, who plays for the Lakers, walked out of the talks.
Wojnarowski, via Twitter, reports that a meeting between NBA owners and players is scheduled for later today. “The discussion is expected to include plans of action moving forward on social justice issues,” he writes.
“The resumption of playoff games could come as soon as Friday, but there is expected to be a return to this season by the weekend, sources tell ESPN,” the NBA reporter tweeted.
The coronavirus pandemic already made the 2020 NBA season unlike any other in the league’s history. After stalling the season this past April due to Covid-19, the league resumed games in late July across three venues at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. It’s known as “The Bubble” because players committed to staying on the premises and not leaving until their season came to an end.