Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, one of the best NBA players in recent years, announced Monday that he gave positive for coronavirus and was quarantined, less than three weeks after the restart of the competition.
“I tested positive for Covid-19 prior to my team’s trip to Orlando,” Westbrook said on his Twitter account. «I am feeling good, I am in quarantine, and I hope to be able to join my colleagues when authorized.». “Thank you all for the good wishes and continued support,” added the point guard, who was chosen nine times for the All-Star Game. Please take this virus seriously. Be careful. Put on your mask!
Despite the short time frame before the restart of games, Westbrook hopes to play the NBA season finale, which begins on July 30 behind closed doors at the Disney World sports complex (Orlando).
The Houston Rockets, which occupy the sixth position in the Western Conference, traveled to Orlando last Thursday with the absences of Westbrook and his other great figure, James Harden.
That day, US media said the two stars would later travel to Orlando on their own, but Harden has not yet been reported to have arrived at Disney World, either.
Team coach Mike D’Antoni said Sunday he hoped the two players could travel to Orlando in the next three or four days, without giving reasons for their absences.
Westbrook, Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2016-2017 season, arrived this season at the Rockets after eleven years leading the Oklahoma City Thunder and is a key figure for the aspirations of the Texas franchise, averaging 27.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game.
In the 2016-2017 season, Westbrook was the second player in NBA history to average a ‘triple double’ (more than 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists per game) since the legendary Oscar Robertson in 1962.
Other NBA players infected with coronavirus in recent days have confirmed that they will not compete in Orlando, such as Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan, both from the Brooklyn Nets.
Like other NBA players, Westbrook has also been involved in recent months in protests against racism in the wake of the crime of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. On June 8, the base participated in a march through the streets of Compton (California), near his native Long Beach.
Bruno Caboclo skips quarantine
According to ESPN, another Rockets player, the Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo, the Disney World hotel broke the quarantine and was put into a new period of isolation.
The 24-year-old Caboclo left his room without authorization during the quarantine period that team members were subjected to last week upon arrival at Disney World, which ends when they test negative for several coronavirus tests with at least 24 hours of difference. Apparently the player was unaware that he had to stay in the room all that time despite the fact that all the players and staff of the teams were informed of the protocols, ESPN said. “I should have known,” a source told the network. “It was no secret.”
The substitute forward, who has barely played 8.1 minutes on average with 2.7 points per game, must now spend another eight days confined to his room before being able to rejoin his teammates.
The 22 teams that will compete for the ring settled between Tuesday and Thursday of last week at the ‘bubble’ headquarters of Disney World, where they will begin to play preparation games between them on July 22.
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