Harrison Barnes joined his teammates Kings in the Orlando bubble over the weekend and was so fit that he was able to adapt to the team’s scrimmage finale on Monday.
Sacramento’s little starting striker tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend of July 4th and struggled to cancel the NBA protocol, but never had symptoms. This was not the case with his wife Brittany or his mother Shirley, who were both with him in Sacramento.
“In my family, my wife and mother both proved positive for COVID,” said Barnes after the Kings 106-102 victory over the Clippers. “My wife was sick, really sick for about a week, my mother was sick for a couple of days. In our family, we have been able to see the different ranges of how COVID can harm your system, how serious it is and how important it is to wear a mask. “
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According to Barnes, there was a time when he wasn’t sure he could leave Sacramento due to the severity of the symptoms for his loved ones at home. Both were able to avoid hospital stays, which was a determining factor.
When Barnes left for the bubble, the two were on the mend and felt comfortable that the worst had passed.
“They are doing much better now,” said Barnes. “They have few or no symptoms, waiting to be negative.”
Harrison was raised by his mother Shirley in a one-parent family in Ames, Iowa and the two have tremendous ties. He and his wife Brittany met in college in North Carolina and got married in the summer of 2017.
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Barnes was the fourth member of the Kings roster to positively test the coronavirus. All four have joined the Orlando team at this point, although Alex Len has struggled with the symptoms during his quarantine period and has not yet obtained authorization for full contact practice at this point.
This is just another reminder of the human element involved in restarting NBA. The Kings, as well as 21 other teams, are stuck in the bubble at least until mid-August. Families cannot join the bubble until after the first playoff round, which will not take place until the end of August.
