By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
With the NBA preseason in full swing, the Brooklyn Nets will have to face reigning champions, Milwaukee Bucks, on Friday without Kyrie Irving, who has been listed as “ineligible to play” by the team.
Per the latest New York COVID-19 legislation, all professional athletes are required to be vaccinated in order to practice or play, and given Irving’s absence from the training camp, it’s a strong indicator that the Nets‘ superstar has still to receive the vaccine.
Although the Nets can’t reveal the vaccination status of their players, they are already preparing to face the season without Irving, who could turn out to be a part-time player when and if the Nets’ schedule permits his presence on the court and during practice.
Irving could lose as much as $381K for each game he misses this season and it could add up to nearly half of his 2021-22 salary of $35M. Unless he receives the vaccine, he will have to miss at least 43 games (41 at home, two road games against the New York Knicks), and possibly more if new vaccination legislations are imposed in other states in the future.