NBA players met on Wednesday night to discuss the future of the basketball season, and things got heated.
Matters began earlier in the day when the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to play in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. Their actions were intended to be a statement in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday night. The Magic were unaware of the Bucks’ plans and were surprised. The teams scheduled to play later in the day decided not to play either, and then the movement spilled into other leagues, like MLB.
The NBA players decided to hold a meeting on Wednesday night about the future of the season. The Athletic’s David Aldridge says the end of the meeting was “ugly.”
Told the players’ meeting ended "ugly," per a source, with uncertainty about what will happen tomorrow. The union will be present at the special Board of Governors meeting, per a source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) August 27, 2020
In what was described as an informal poll, the Lakers and Clippers voted against continuing the rest of the season. LeBron James reportedly walked out afterwards.
Others are portraying the situation as players being frustrated and needing some time to cool off before deciding things.
One NBA player to me: “It wasn’t really a vote. Those guys (Clippers and Lakers) just made it clear they don’t want to play right now. But none of us want to play right now. It’s too much to take in and then play a game at this moment. We all need a day to figure stuff out.”
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) August 27, 2020
The players will talk again on Thursday, while the owners also hold a meeting.
One NBA player to me following the meeting: “It was emotional. Heated. It doesn’t look good right now, but we’re all hoping that everyone will sleep on it and maybe we can figure it out tomorrow because most of us still want to find a way to play.”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 27, 2020
There are currently five first-round playoff series ongoing. The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors were set to play Game 1 of their second-round series on Thursday.
