When the Brooklyn Nets announced in December that unvaccinated star point guard Kyrie Irving would be allowed to play in the team’s road games, many of us wondered what that meant for Brooklyn’s chances of winning the 2021-2022 NBA championship.
While Irving’s presence on the court will certainly help Brooklyn in its pursuit of the top seed in the Eastern Conference, as well as allowing stars Kevin Durant and James Harden to play fewer minutes, come postseason time, Irving’s inability to play at Barclays Center in Brooklyn would severely hinder the organization’s chances of reaching and winning the NBA Finals.
But there is a loophole to this problem, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
In order to play in Brooklyn home games or at Madison Square Garden where the New York Knicks play, Irving would need to be vaccinated due to local New York City regulations, or pay a fine, according to the NY Daily News.
In August, then-NYC mayor Bill de Blasio (D) put out an executive order which required players to be vaccinated in order to play in “certain covered premises.” In the executive order, the subsequent fines for an individual who violates the rules are laid out, starting with a $1,000 fine for the first violation.
A second violation within a twelve-month period will warrant a $2,000 fine, with every violation thereafter costing the individual $5,000.
Let’s consider how many home games the Nets potentially could play during the NBA playoffs. Brooklyn currently sits second in the Eastern Conference, but to make this easier to understand, let’s say they finish as the conference’s top seed.
As the top seed, the Nets would have a maximum of four home games per round. With four rounds — including the NBA Finals — the Nets would have a maximum of 16 home games. Irving would be fined $3,000 for the first two games he plays, and then a total of $70,000 for the remaining 14 home games in which he plays, when Irving playing is a violation of New York City’s executive order.
Irving makes more than $400,000 per game.
The odds of this happening seem small, as the backlash would be immense, but props to Bondy for doing the necessary research and pointing out the loophole.
Irving has played in two games since Brooklyn allowed him to be a “part-time” player, averaging 22 points and 4 assists per game in 36 minutes.
The entire situation around Irving has been a fiasco from the beginning.
In mid-October, Nets general manager Sean Marks announced that Irving would not be part of the organization “until he is eligible to be a full participant.” At the time, Marks would not allow Irving to play in just Brooklyn’s road games, which would have made him a “part-time player.” That thinking changed in the middle of December when the Nets were hit particularly hard by COVID-19, forcing Marks and the Nets to do an about-face regarding Irving’s position on the team, allowing him to return as a “part-time” player for Brooklyn’s remaining road games.
The decision to allow Irving to play has enraged many in the media, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who even said he was open to the league mandating the COVID-19 vaccination for players.
“I think it’s a horrible move. I think it’s a disgraceful move,” Smith said when asked if bringing Irving back was the best move for the Nets’ organization. “I think that Nets ownership is incredibly disappointing and I think that the league should intervene.”
“I’m open to the league invoking its ‘best interest of the game’ clause and mandating that everybody be vaccinated in some capacity,” Smith continued.
The Nets next road game is against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].