Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo among NBA superstars who endorse COVID-19 vaccination

The NBA has new heroes in the fight against COVID-19. Among all the naysayers and critics of the vaccination for the coronavirus epidemic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are a bunch of NBA superstars who have admitted to being vaccinated in the best interests of family and loved ones. The NBA superstars made these revelations on the league-wide Media Day, which took place on Monday, September 27.

The NBA has been inundated with player vaccination status queries after an article appeared in Rolling Stone last week on a number of players not wanting to get vaccinated in the name of personal freedom. The article specifically mentioned Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving as an example who refused to divulge his vaccination status.

This article coupled with Golden State Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins’ refusal to get vaccinated, which prevents him from playing home games because of local city rules, has created a very problematic situation for the NBA.

Controversy takes centerstage on NBA Media Day

With this backdrop, NBA Media Day, which took place for all 30 franchises all through on Monday, saw player vaccination status take centerstage as soon as the media sessions got underway.

Irving did not attend Nets Media Day in person due to New York City health and safety protocols. But the NBA superstar did address the media via a Zoom interaction. Asked to address speculation about his vaccination status, Irving said,

“I appreciate your question, but honestly, I like to keep that stuff private. I’m a human being first and obviously living in this public sphere, there’s just a lot of questions about what’s going on in the world of Kyrie and I just would love to just keep that private and handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan.”

When repeatedly asked about his vaccination stance by the reporter, Irving took a sharper stand, saying,

“Please respect my privacy. Next question.”

Adding to the NBA’s anti-vaccination brigade was Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal. Speaking to the media in Washington, Beal defended his position by asking a rhetorical question that how were people continuing to get COVID-19 even after they had been jabbed?

Beal also said that while some of his family members have been vaccinated, he did not feel any pressure to get jabbed. He said,

“I don’t think you pressure anybody into doing things, or putting things in their body,” Beal said. “I don’t think it will be (a distraction). We’re going to play basketball and do that at the highest level. We have protocols and things in place to make sure we’re taken care of and tested regularly.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard among NBA superstars for vaccination

But just as Irving and Beal were putting fans and the media off with their vaccine hesitancy, NBA superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard spoke out in favor of being vaccinated. Speaking to the media at the Fiserv Forum, Antetokounmpo confirmed that he had been jabbed. He said,

“I did what’s best for me and my family to stay protected. I’m vaccinated… It was the best decision for me to be safe. I have kids… I know right now that it’s going to keep my family safe.”

Lillard, on his part, said that the decision to take the vaccination was rather “simple”. When the team approached him to get the vaccination, the Portland superstar immediately thought about his family. Lillard responded to the request by asking if he could bring his family too to get vaccinated.

Lillard said,

“I’m not mad at people for saying, ‘I need to do my research,’ or they got to take the steps that make them comfortable. But I have a lot of people in my family that I’m tight with and I spend a lot of time around and I’m just not going to put their health or their lives in danger because I want to do research… I’ve had people in my family actually die and people actually lose their lives to it, and there’s a way for me to protect myself and the people that I love, I’m going to do it. It’s pretty simple.”

Stephen Curry addresses Wiggins’ situation

Golden State Warriors member Stephen Curry addressed his teammate Andrew Wiggins’ situation by admitting that he had taken the jab.

“I got it and am ready to be available and following the mandates and what not.”

But Curry said the onus on Wiggins taking the jab is on the small forward. He said,

“At the end of the day, it is up to him. I think it’s no secret to that point. We obviously hope that he has all the right information and access to the right resources to ask all the questions he has on making decisions.”

Wiggins averaged 18.6 ppg for Golden State last season in the NBA, while shooting a career-best 47.7% from the field and 38.0% from long range for the Dubs. His anti-vaccination stance, which stops him from playing home games, could really hurt the Warriors.