Coronavirus: Two LA Lakers Players, Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart Tested Positive for COVID-19

Two Los Angeles Lakers players along with Bolton Celtics guard Marcus Smart were the latest from the NBA roster to test positive for coronavirus. Both the teams announced the news through a statement on their social media channels without specifically naming the players. The Lakers players had undergone COVID-19 tests on Wednesday after four members of Brooklyn Nets, who the Lakers played a day before the suspension of 2020 NBA league, had tested positive for the pandemic. Both the players have since gone in quarantine and are currently asymptomatic. Smart, on the other, put out a tweet to confirm that he had tested positive. With Tokyo Olympics 2020 in Doubt Amid Coronavirus, Here’s a Look at Times When Summer Olympic Games Were Cancelled.

“I am okay, I feel fine. I don’t feel any symptoms,” said the 26-year-old in a video message on Twitter account. Just found out that I tested positive for coronavirus. But I can’t stress enough practising social distancing and keeping yourself away from a large group of people. Just really washing your hands and help protect yourself and help protect others by protecting yourself,” he added in the half-a-minute long clip. Kevin Durant, Three Other Brooklyn Nets Players Tested Positive for Coronavirus.

Marcus Smart Confirms He Has Tested Positive for COVID-19

“I was tested 5 days ago and the results came back tonight, which were positive,” he said in the tweet. “I have been self-quarantined since the test, thank goodness. COVID-19 must be taken with the highest of seriousness. This is not a joke. Not doing so is selfish. Together we can beat this, but we must beat it together by being apart for a short while.”

Boston Celtics Release Statement

Earlier Boston Celtics had put out a statement that "a player – later confirmed as Smart – had tested positive for COVID-19 after getting exposed to a known positive case. The player has been in isolation for several days and will continue to do so," the statement read. It also confirmed that the team is awaiting more results and will communicate them as appropriate.

Two Lakers Players Test Positive

Meanwhile, the Lakers in its statement informed that “all players and members of the staff are being asked to continue to observe self-quarantine and shelter at home guidelines, closely monitor their health, consult with their personal physicians and maintain constant communication with the team.” The team had undergone tests on Wednesday and the results came a day after that showed two players tested positive. The names of both the players, however, are yet to be known.

Their results mean the tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the NBA rises to 14, which started with Rudy Gilbert testing positive followed by his Utah Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell. Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant and three more players also tested positive on Wednesday, while Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons, one member of Denver Nuggets and three more from the Philadelphia 76ers have all tested positive and are currently in quarantine.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 09:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).