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Kyrie Irving remains unvaccinated, leading to some major questions for the Brooklyn Nets

Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets are slated to open training camp next week with their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers set to take place on Oct. 3.

While Irving will likely be on the court for that game in Southern California, his status for any home game in Brooklyn.

The seven-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving remains unvaccinated, a situation that could prohibit him from playing in home games, Fox Sports reported Thursday.

Local regulations in New York City — and San Francisco — prohibit players from playing and practicing in their home arenas without proof of at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, unless they have an approved exemption, medical or religious.

As noted before, New York City and San Francisco are the two major NBA markets who required proof of vaccination for those attending large indoor events. The Association has also noted in the recent past that it will not provide exemptions for players unless there’s a medical or religious reason.

We’re seeing the Golden State Warriors being impact by this with Andrew Wiggins pushing back against receiving the vaccine.

As for Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets, they are seen as top-end NBA title contenders heading into the 2021-22 season. If he were to be forced from playing home games, that would obviously be impacted.

Brooklyn Nets touch on COVID-19 situation, leading to speculation about Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving COVID-19 vaccine
Jun 5, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving (11) reacts after making a basket against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter of game one in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

“Regarding if they could play today, I can’t comment on who could play and so forth. There would obviously be a couple people missing from that picture,” general manager Marks told the media earlier this week. “I won’t get into who it is, but we feel confident in the following several days before camp everybody would be allowed to participate and so forth.”

In terms of whether the Nets would pursue an exemption for Irving, that’s not yet known. However, officials in New York City could override said exemption.

Related: Find out where Kyrie Irving ranks among NBA players

Entering his third season in Brooklyn, the 29-year-old Irving has played only 74 games in two years due to a combination of injuries and some off-court drama. If this situation were to play out into the 2021-22 regular season, we’ll likely hear continued rumors of the Nets trading Kyrie Irving. But we’re ways away from that.

(Field Level Media contributed to this report)

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