© Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday night, the NBA season was on the brink. There seemed a very real possibility the restarted season, resumed in the bubble of Orlando, Florida, could be canceled, not as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, but as a result of the Milwaukee Bucks’ going on strike following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha Wisconsin. The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers soon followed, leaving all of Wednesday’s games postponed with the players on strike.
There was a player meeting on Wednesday night, which, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, reporting that the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers had voted to strike the remainder of the season, with the Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem saying there’s effectively no way for the season to continue without them.
James, flanked by the Lakers and Clippers, left the meeting, and players were reportedly frustrated by the Bucks’ decision coming so rapidly and without informing other teams.
But after another player meeting on Thursday, per Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the league will resume play, potentially by Friday and at latest by Saturday.
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. https://t.co/A2PazNKDhy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2020
Sources: NBA players in meeting today agreed to continue playing this postseason — but want to find new and improved ways to make social justice statements. Players expect games to resume this weekend.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2020