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Despite growing COVID-19 concerns, the NBA has announced that an All-Star game will be happening this season.
The NBA season is moving along in 2021 despite growing COVID-19 concerns. A lot of fans won’t get the chance to see their teams in action this year because of the virus. Only 10 NBA teams are allowing fans in arenas for games and even then, it’s at a reduced capacity. The sports world championed the NBA’s institution and execution of a ‘bubble’ for their sports league last year in the heat of the global pandemic, and yes, by the numbers, they did an excellent job.
The league has continued to be the standard for COVID-19 protocol amongst sports leagues and is statistically doing well at managing the virus again this year. There haven’t been any positive tests in the NBA since Jan. 27.
It hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine though. We’ve heard the stories of players like Karl Anthony Towns, who has suffered incredible loss to the virus, and Jimmy Butler, whose health was affected by COVID. Games have been postponed already in this short season, and the country just doesn’t have a handle on it at all.
The NBA announced its All-Star date and city
Still, the NBA announced today that they are indeed having an All-Star game. It’s set to take place in Atlanta, a city notorious for its loose COVID-19 restrictions.
All-Star voting is picking up and some players will undoubtedly be hopeful about a trip to Atlanta for the game. The hometown Atlanta Hawks are currently sitting at No. 6 in the Eastern Conference and have been somewhat the poster-team for forward-thinking initiatives off the court. Not all players are excited about the news though. Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox wasn’t moved by the announcement.
The announcement from the league isn’t really a surprise given they held the All-Star game in Chicago last year in February about a month before Rudy Gobert initially tested positive for COVID. The league launched the bubble just a few short months later in July.
The obvious health concerns that come with the All-Star game this year probably won’t affect players and coaches much, given the league’s history with the virus. The city of Atlanta, however, will need to brace itself for the commotion that comes with an All-Star game in the middle of a global pandemic.