From this point forth, August 26, 2020 will be known as the day that the NBA’s players took a historic stand. For the first time in league history, a player-led boycott led to the postponement of three playoff games.
As teams have begun to qualify for the second round of the playoffs, Wednesday’s three-game slate was to begin with Game 5 of the first-round series featuring the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting incident involving Jacob Blake, however, the Bucks refused to take the floor. The game would eventually be postponed, as would the other two contests scheduled for the evening — Game 5 of the Thunder-Rockets series and Game 5 of the Lakers-Blazers series.
As of 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the league’s players were expected to hold a meeting in Orlando to determine the fate of the 2019-20 season. According to various media reports, there was at least a segment of players who were in favor of boycotting the remainder of the season, including the playoffs.
As the situation unfolds, the Oklahoma City Thunder organization released a statement in support of its players exercising their right to boycott.
“The Thunder respects and supports our players peacefully bringing awareness to the critical issues happening in our country. Our organization will continue to work relentlessly to create meaningful change,” the statement — issued via the team’s official Twitter account — read.
Statement from the OKC Thunder:
The Thunder respects and supports our players peacefully bringing awareness to the critical issues happening in our country. Our organization will continue to work relentlessly to create meaningful change.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 27, 2020
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s incident involving Mr. Blake — a Black Wisconsin man who was shot in the back seven times by law enforcement officers — many of the league’s players and coaches sounded off on the ongoing protests against police brutality in the Black community.
Following the Thunder’s win in Game 4 of their series against the Rockets, Chris Paul — the Thunder’s starting point guard and President of the NBA Players Association — dedicated his post-game walk-off interview to expressing his feelings on the Blake incident.
Since then, the league’s players began to assemble and eventually decided to take a historic stand.
On Wednesday, as an organization, the Oklahoma City Thunder let its position be known — it supports its players right to peacefully protest.
While the fate of the 2019-20 season is unknown, the teams involved in postseason play are planning its next steps. More is to come.