Kyrie Irving will now be eligible to play home games starting Thursday as New York City ends its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the private sector.
Shams Charania of The Athletic was first to report this specific side to Wednesday’s breaking news out of the Big Apple.
As you likely already know, Irving has not been able to play home games all season due to his unvaccinated status. The NBA champion made his season debut with the Brooklyn Nets back on January 5 after sitting out the first 35 games of the campaign. He’s suited up in only 19 games this season.
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Impact of Kyrie Irving being able to play Brooklyn Nets home games
Brooklyn sits at 38-34 on the season and is likely headed for the play-in tournament back east. It currently 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the sixth spot and a guaranteed place in the NBA Playoffs with just 10 games remaining in the regular season.
As noted above, Irving will be able to play home games starting on Thursday. His first appearance at Barclays will come Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets with a total of six home games remaining on the schedule.
- Kyrie Irving stats (2021-22): 27.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 49% FG, 43% three-point, 23.8 PER
In the 19 games that Irving has suited up this season, the Nets boast an 8-11 record. However, it must be noted that all of those came on the road for obvious reasons.
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New York Yankees, New York Mets impacted by end of NYC vaccine mandate
This impacts both the Yankees and Mets as they prepare for the 2022 MLB regular season following a lengthy lockout.
Unvaccinated players will be able to take to the field at both Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. This is no small thing with both teams boasting legitimate World Series hopes.
The Mets’ home opener comes April 15 against the Arizona Diamondbacks while the Yankees will open their home slate in the Bronx April 7 against the hated Boston Red Sox. It’s not known how many unvaccinated players are rostered by each team.
Mets owner Steve Cohen had lobbied New York City Mayor Eric Adams to end the mandate. He has some sway in that the billionaire donated $1.5 million to Adams in the Democratic primary last year, according to Politico.