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The NBA Playoffs are set to begin next week, and to help comfort them through the postseason, players will now be joined by family and close friends. The NBA restart has been going on for three weeks now, and players miss their loved ones.
“I miss the hell out of my family,” LeBron James said during a press conference on August 3. “My wife, my kids, my mother. And so on and so on.
King James and the rest of the league will have to wait until August 31 before seeing guests again, but there are some stipulations.
According to a league memo, players will be allowed to have four guests each (or more if depending on children), that can attend games and be flown into Orlando on a charter.
Those allowed in the bubble must be “established, longstanding personal friends.” The NBA is not allowing “any individual the player has not met in person with whom the players have had limited in-person interactions,” which rules out the more casual visits.
In an ESPN report, an NBA GM stated that outside visitors “could create problems within your team — and maybe someone else’s too.”
However, there has been no mention of anyone getting, um, flewed out. But, on First Take, Stephen A Smith lobbied for players to have conjugal visits before August 31.
While the NBA is trying to stay out being messy and keeping players safe (there were 0 positive tests again this week), it would be good to see familiar faces in the hotels and arenas. Guests will have the opportunity to watch the semifinal playoff games after following a seven-day quarantine.
Guest lists, which must be submitted by Monday, are final, so no substitutions can be made, and guests must adhere to social distancing and mask-wearing rules.
