Why was Lakers star LeBron James excluded from the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols?

As it turns out, the Lakers won’t be without superstar LeBron James for a long time.

On Tuesday, The group announced that James will miss time after participating in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and other reports suggested he tested positive for COVID-19.

The NBA stipulates that a player who tests positive for COVID-19 must be absent from his team for a minimum of 10 days or until he returns two negative PCR tests in a 24-hour period. . That puts James in danger of missing out on Los Angeles’ next five games, starting with his absence Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings.

After victory, star striker Anthony Davis said he spoke to James, said: “He said he was fine. I think he has no symptoms, which is a good sign, but we want to make sure he comes back. Health is most important. This more important than basketball. He has a family. We want to make sure he’s good no matter what. … Like I said, he seems fine.”

Just two days later, the NBA announced that LeBron had been removed from the league’s health and safety protocols, qualifying to return for Friday, December 3 against the LA Clippers.

Here’s why.

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Why was LeBron James removed from the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols?

On Thursday, The NBA has released a statement“Following two negative PCR tests performed more than 24 hours apart, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James cleared the NBA Health & Safety Protocols.

“James was initially included in the Protocol on Tuesday, November 30 after a series of tests yielded conflicting results, including an initial positive test collected on November 29. Additional tests confirmed that he was not a positive case.

“Following the Consistent Testing Protocols and Procedures that have been in place since the 2019-20 Season Restart in Orlando, the sample that produced the initial positive test result was rerun twice and returned a single result. negative and one positive on two different PCR tools. As a result, James underwent an additional test on November 30, with one test showing negative and the second showing no clinical results.

THAN: What are the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols?

In layman’s terms: LeBron’s initial test could have been a false positive, since one test was positive and the other was negative. After the star forward underwent additional testing, he came out negative, with the remainder being inconclusive.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that James has had “multiple rounds of negative test results since returning to Los Angeles from Sacramento on Tuesday night,” which may explain LeBron’s cryptic tweet from Wednesday, May 1. twelfth.

The Lakers were originally set to face the Clippers on ESPN on Friday, but with James’ expected absence, the league flexed the Los Angeles Battle away from national television to get a rematch between the two records. NBA Best Player – Warriors vs. Suns.

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While his return won’t take place in the national arena, the Lakers will welcome James back with open arms as they try and get their season back on track, with a head start. poor 11-11.

The Lakers will meet the Clippers at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, December 3.