Nets' Kyrie Irving could lose pay if he's unvaccinated, NBA says

Unless Nets star Kyrie Irving complies with a New York City COVID-19 vaccine mandate that went into effect on Sept. 13, he will not get paid for the games he misses.

The NBA on Wednesday confirmed that home-team players who do not comply with the vaccine mandate in New York City, which requires at least one dose of vaccine, or the one that goes into effect in October in San Francisco, which requires residents to be fully vaccinated to enter closed premises, are subject to financial penalties for the games they miss.

"Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.

Teams affected by the local mandates include the Knicks, Nets and Golden State. The Knicks have said all of their players are fully vaccinated. Irving did not attend Nets media day on Monday at Barclays Center and then refused to clarify his vaccination status in a Zoom interview with reporters. Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins also has expressed his opposition to getting vaccinated.

Irving could miss 41 home games at Barclays Center and two visits to Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks. The amount of pay Irving and other unvaccinated players might lose is under negotiation and is not yet clear.

It could range as low as 1/110th of a player’s salary comparable for a suspension, or it might be a full game check. Based on Irving’s $33,460,350 salary reported by Basketball Insiders, the cost for each game he misses would equal just over $408,053 per game.

Under NBA guidelines, players are not required to be vaccinated except in the two cities where they are subject to separate local vaccine mandates that are beyond NBA control. But every other member of each organization from front office to coaching staff, medical staff and even scoring-table personnel must be fully vaccinated to work at NBA games.

Visiting teams to the two New York arenas and to Chase Center in San Francisco are not subject to the vaccine mandates in those cities because they are not based there. However, all personnel must follow medical protocols enforced at each arena around the league, such as wearing facemasks in the arena except during games.

According to an ESPN report, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are close to finalizing a set of health and safety protocols for the coming season. Unvaccinated players will face many of the same restrictions as last season before COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, such as daily testing before entering an arena or team facility.

Players who are fully vaccinated face far fewer restrictions. They only must test if they are displaying COVID-19 symptoms or if they have been exposed to someone infected with the disease.

According to the NBPA, approximately 90% of NBA players are fully vaccinated. Lakers star LeBron James announced on Tuesday that he and his family members chose to get vaccinated, and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard came out strongly in favor of getting vaccinated. But Wizards guard Bradley Beal announced his opposition to getting vaccinated.

When he spoke to the media on Monday, Irving gave some indication his stance toward vaccination might change before the first home preseason game on Oct. 8 or the regular-season home opener on Oct. 24. "Obviously, I’m not able to be there today, but that doesn’t mean I’m putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team," Irving said.

Asked later to clarify his position, Irving said, "Everything will be released at a due date once we get this cleared up. But as of right now, just please respect my privacy regarding anything about home games, what’s happening, vaccination. Please."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.