The Athletics’ Shams Charania reports the Boston Celtics have confirmed one player has tested positive for the coronavirus responsible for the suspension of NBA activities since March 11th, and Marcus Smart confirmed he is the player on Twitter soon after.
As of Wednesday evening, the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reported that the team was still awaiting the results of coronavirus testing conducted over the weekend.
But, the team must now turn its attention to how it will move forward with the league’s plans to resume the season this summer after the positive diagnosis, and how best to include Smart in those plans, if at all.
Boston is among eight teams having been revealed by NBA commissioner Adam Silver to have done their own testing for the virus in his Wednesday interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
At least eight are known publicly.
I’ve had no symptoms and I feel great. But the younger generation in our country MUST self distance. This is not a joke. Not doing so is selfish. Together we can beat this, but we must beat it together by being apart for a short while. Much love!!
— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) March 19, 2020
Those teams include the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers (three of whom were revealed to have a positive diagnosis earlier Thursday), Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and of course Boston.
Shams Charania of The Athletic also reports that three of the Los Angeles Lakers have also tested positive for the virus, though it’s currently unclear if this is the eighth team Silver referred to, or whether it represents a ninth organization.
Teams may increasingly look to keep such information private as they grapple with how such results will impact their plans to resume play this summer should such an outcome be possible — exactly the situation the Celtics now find themselves in.
It’s a problem increasingly impacting the lives of all Americans, and for his part, the Texan guard hopes we all will look to his situation and make the effort to social distance for the good of everyone.
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