Hours after the NBA postponed its playoff games Wednesday because of players boycotting in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers reportedly voted to boycott the remainder of the postseason.
Both LA teams were the only ones to do so in Thursday night's meeting among the remaining playoff teams in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported that the Lakers and Clippers were the first teams to leave the meeting.
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ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers and Clippers' vote was "more of a polling" rather "than a final vote." It's "up in the air" whether the remainder of the postseason will be played, according to Wojnarowski.
A police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in the back seven times as he tried to get into his car on Sunday. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Wednesday that Blake was near a knife when the shooting took place. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Blake's family, said Tuesday that Blake was "helping to de-escalate a domestic incident." Crump said Blake's three children, aged 3, 5 and 8, were in the car when Blake was shot. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down, according to his father and family lawyers.
The shooting, occurring within months of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's deaths at the hands of police, sparked local and national demonstrations. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested Wednesday in Illinois on a first-degree intentional murder charge in connection with Tuesday night's fatal shooting at a protest in Kenosha.
Golden State Warriors
Within hours of Rittenhouse's arrest, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic. The NBA and National Basketball Players Association then postponed all of Wednesday's games, including Game 5 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Lakers star LeBron James, whom Charania reported led the Lakers and Clippers out of Thursday night's meeting, reportedly said he wants NBA owners "to take action." Earlier Wednesday, James tweeted he was "sick" of the status quo.
The NBA Board of Governors reportedly will meet Thursday morning at 11 A.M. ET, according to Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill. The players will meet at the same time, Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews reported. Wojnarowski also reported that it's "unlikely" the league's three playoff games scheduled for Thursday will take place.