On March 25, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season is in full swing. Earlier today, the Nets received good news that team star Irving will qualify for the home game.
New York City Mayor Adams officially announced today that professional athletes and performers are allowed to obtain vaccine exemptions in the workplace. That means Irving will qualify for the Nets' home games, as will the Unvaccinated players from the New York Yankees and New York Mets!
As a result, Irving will become a full-time player. Since announcing at the beginning of last season that he would not be vaccinated, Irving has not played at home with the Nets, and he even suffered a suspension from the Nets at one point, and the two sides later reached a settlement. With the Nets still nine regular season games left this season and only 8th in the East with 38 wins and 35 losses, Irving's return is important for them.
At the same time, the NBA League and the NBA Players Union issued a statement on the matter:
"The NBA has achieved a 97 percent vaccination rate and a 75 percent intensive vaccination rate among players, which is something that all the league staff, team staff and referees need to accomplish, and we will continue to vigorously advocate for vaccination and intensive vaccination." We issued a statement today in support of the New York Mayor's decision that the provisions for differential treatment of home and away players will no longer make sense, especially as unvaccinated NBA players continue to be tested every day. We applaud the mayor for listening to the advice of New York teams, players, fans and the community, which levels the playing field for New York teams and their rival teams. ”
In response, Nets owner Cai Chongxin tweeted: "Let's work together to restore jobs and the New York economy!" ”
So far this season, Irving has played in 20 games, averaging 36.5 minutes per game, averaging 28.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals, shooting 49.4% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range.