As the NBA inches closer to its mid-season break, there’s been a lot of debate about the wisdom of moving forward with plans to host an All-Star Game in Atlanta next month amid the ongoing pandemic. Several players around the league have expressed reservations about participating in what would be a massively scaled-down event.
De’Aaron Fox, Kemba Walker, and others
Kevin Durant will not start tonight for the Nets due to Health and Safety protocols, team says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2021
Durant had been registering antibodies from his March bout with COVID-19 when he was out due to contact tracing a month ago. He missed four games after exposure to the virus. https://t.co/dv66NxIX0j
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2021
Woj initially reported that Durant would miss the entire game but quickly revised that to say he would simply not start against Toronto, presumably leaving the possibility that he might still take the court at some point.
The Nets were one of the teams early in the season to have several players miss games due to COVID-related contact tracing and safety protocols. Durant was among those players to miss time after being exposed to the virus.