Report: NBA bringing back daily testing, increased mask usage

Amid a major surge in players and team staff sidelined due to COVID-19, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have agreed to implement new health measures, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Excluding off days, daily testing for COVID-19 will reportedly be in effect from Dec. 26 through Jan. 8. If a player is two weeks removed from receiving a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, they will not be subject to daily testing.

Coaches, team staff, and players must also now wear masks while on the sideline, inside team facilities, and during travel, according to Wojnarowski.

Just 16 players entered the league's health and safety protocols from October to November, but 47 have been sidelined through the first 16 days of December alone, according to the Sporting News' Micah Adams.

Among the group currently out of action are reigning Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Brooklyn Nets' James Harden, the Los Angeles Lakers' Russell Westbrook, and the Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.

In particular, the breadth of the outbreak was so bad in Chicago that the NBA called off games the Bulls were slated to play on Tuesday and Thursday this week - the 2021-22 season's first postponements.