Before the 2020-’21 season began, everyone anticipated NBA news to be littered with COVID-19 issues as basketball returned outside of the Orlando bubble. While things have gone smoothly early in the season, the Philadelphia 76ers are now going through the first scare.
Moments after the 76ers walked off the court following Thursday night’s 122-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the team is now in quarantine. Now, in addition to a tough defeat, they are dealing with uncertainty ahead of their upcoming contest against the Denver Nuggets.
NBA news: Philadelphia 76ers SG Seth Curry tests positive for COVID-19, team quarantines
Before the Philadelphia 76ers took the court against Brooklyn on Thursday night, the team learned shooting guard Seth Curry tested positive for COVID-19. The news, reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, immediately forced the team to take safety precautions.
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Curry, who missed the game with an ankle injury, spent the first quarter alongside his teammates on the bench. Once Philadelphia learned of his positive test result, he was immediately escorted away into a private room for isolation then left the Barclays Center on his own.
The 30-year-old followed the NBA’s protocols while on the bench Thursday, wearing a mask as he sat near assistant coach Sam Cassell and All-Star center Joel Embiid.
Immediately following Thursday’s loss, the 76ers went into quarantine and will reportedly stay in New York on Friday. Each player and staff will undergo new rounds of testing for the coronavirus, while the team conducts contact tracing to determine if any players were at high risk for exposure due to how long they were around Curry.
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Embiid, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, told ESPN that he will self-quarantine from his family until he is certain he didn’t contract the coronavirus. As a result, the 26-year-old will have to be away from his 3-month-old son.
In Curry’s absence, Shake Milton started for the 76ers. The 24-year-old guard finished with a season-high 24 points, shooting 61.5% from the field and led the team with seven assistants.
Under the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, Curry must either sit out 10 days before having a shot to return or needs two negative PCR tests 24 hours apart.
The 76ers are scheduled to play the Nuggets on Saturday back in Philadelphia. As of now, there are no plans for the game to be rescheduled.