The number of NBA players with coronavirus as of Thursday is at least two, as a pair of Utah Jazz All-Stars have tested positive for COVID-19.
On Wednesday night, Rudy Gobert was the first player revealed to have contracted the virus, but he wasn’t present at the arena for the scheduled game.
As of Thursday morning, his teammate Donovan Mitchell has also reportedly tested positive.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell positive for COVID-19
A tweet from ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed on Thursday that Mitchell tested positive for coronavirus.
Woj mentions in his tweet that teammate Rudy Gobert was “careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings,” according to what Jazz players said privately.
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has tested positive for the coronavirus, league sources tell ESPN. Jazz players privately say that Rudy Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings. Now a Jazz teammate has tested positive.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
A video clip making the rounds shows Gobert joking around and touching objects on a table after his media session several days ago.
Those items included microphones and audio recorders for his media session. All those reporters are expected to get tested for coronavirus, as well.
The news of Mitchell’s positive test comes after Wednesday night’s Jazz vs. Thunder game was postponed due to Gobert’s illness. Later, the NBA suspended the season as soon as they knew Gobert had tested positive for COVID-19.
Based on an SI report, Mitchell was the only player to have tested positive beyond Gobert in terms of those involved in last night’s Jazz vs. Thunder game.
The 23-year-old Mitchell was Utah’s No. 13 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was selected as an NBA All-Star for the first time in his three-year career.
Gobert was also on the All-Star team with his first appearance as well.
Other NBA teams likely to be tested
On Wednesday, after Gobert’s test results were confirmed as positive, players for both the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were tested and quarantined.
The Thunder players left the arena, and the Jazz players remained in the building.
While Mitchell and Gobert were the only positive tests amongst the Jazz and as of now, the Thunder players, that doesn’t mean other players in the league won’t turn up as positive.
Reports arrived on ESPN’s on-air coverage, suggesting that all teams Gobert had played against in the past 10 days were going to need to self-quarantine.
Those teams included the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Toronto Raptors.
SI’s Chris Mannix said players for the Toronto Raptors were “advised to self-isolate for 14 days.”
In addition to that, it’s expected that all NBA teams will be testing their players for COVID-19.
The reports of Gobert and Mitchell’s positive tests, along with the suspension of the NBA season, arrive as more incidents of the coronavirus are being reported, and events are being postponed or canceled.
Event changes have included the postponement of music festival Coachella, sports teams or leagues banning fans from attending games, and colleges canceling their upcoming sports events.
In addition to the NBA players, another high-profile celebrity recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Reports arrived that actor Tom Hanks tested positive, as well as his wife, with the couple currently isolated over in Australia.
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