It looks as if Kyrie Irving’s very public defiance in not taking the coronavirus jab has been justified after all. NBA officials have given him permission to play in road matches as unvaccinated players are not allowed to compete in New York matches. His defiance has cost him millions in unearned income but Irving has not relented.
Irving is eligible to make his Brooklyn Nets season debut as a part-time participant on Wednesday at Indiana.
Prior to Saturday’s game against the Clippers, head coach Steve Nash said Irving has looked “great and gifted” in ramping up with the “stay-ready” group at HSS Training Center after returning to the team first from his banishment then from the league’s health and safety protocols.
Irving is only eligible to play in the remaining 22 road contests for Brooklyn. The next road game for Brooklyn after Indiana is the Bulls, in Chicago, a week later on 12 January.
Meanwhile, Irving was in what has now become his customary place courtside for Seton Hall games at the Prudential Center in Newark.
And whatever hope fans might have harboured that new mayor Eric Adams might relent on regulations covering indoor venues evaporated when in his first hours at City Hall, Adams renewed them.
Coach Nash wouldn’t commit to that date for the road-only Irving’s return to game action, but he said the seven-time All-Star “looks great, considering” and his comeback is “getting close.”
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