NBA players must be vaccinated to play against the Toronto Raptors
The NBA said that players will not receive any salary when they are ruled out of playing in Canada for not being vaccinated.
The covid-19 restrictions established by the Canadian government for the athletes in the four major leagues of the United States will remain in force for at least for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report obtained a memo in which the league informed teams that players still need to receive their core covid-19 vaccine schedule to be able to play the games north of the border.
In the same memorandum, the NBA states that teams must designate discarded players based on their vaccination status with “Out-Health and Safety Protocols”.
Likewise, unvaccinated players who miss games will not receive game checks for that particular game.
The Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team in the NBA, have a 44 game home slate between the preseason and the regular season on at the ScotiaBank Arena. That of course doesn’t include potential postseason games.
In addition to the 41 regular season games, the three exhibition games will be in Canada. The first in Edmonton, against the Utah Jazz; second in Montreal, against the Boston Celtics; and the third in Toronto against the Chicago Bulls.
Affected Players
During the 2021 season, one of the players most affected by the Canadian restrictions was the guard Matisse Thybulle, of the Philadelphia 76ers. The defensive specialist missed all three of the Sixers' playoff games against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving only played 29 regular season games because New York City required players to be vaccinated. Irving was unable to face the Raptors on March 1 in a game that his team lost by one point.