Malcolm Brogdon, the primary shot creator and heart of the Indiana Pacers’ offense, has become the latest NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus.
Brogdon announced he tested positive, releasing this statement.
Statement from Malcolm Brogdon
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 24, 2020
>> https://t.co/wSzjOAF7XE pic.twitter.com/jmclXRQHX3
On the court, Brogdon has been critical to the Pacers push into the playoffs (they are the fifth seed in the East heading to Orlando and the restart). He averaged 16.3 points and 7.1 assists a game, setting up players such as Domantas Sabonis and working to integrate with Victor Oladipo after his return.
Off the court, Brogdon has been one of the more active NBA players in the Black Lives Matters protests and movement. He is one of the players saying he could use the platform in Orlando to get the BLM message out to a broader audience. As he said, Brogdon still plans on playing in Orlando.
As teams started testing players for the coronavirus this week, a number of players have tested positive (we don’t have an exact number, not everything is public). Malcolm Brogdon joins Denver’s Nikola Jokic as one of the biggest name players to test positive this week (Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert, and Donovan Mitchell did back in March).
The NBA and team executives expected some positive tests, even as some fans on Twitter question if the league should go forward considering the players with the disease and the rise in positive tests in the Orange County/Orlando area. This is why teams are still working out at their home facilities, giving time for players such as Brogdon to quarantine, get treatment, then head to Orlando in a week (or later) when cleared. The idea is to find out who is sick now, get them healthy, then create the “bubble” or campus in Orlando with the coronavirus on the outside and players staying healthy inside (and being tested nearly daily). Of course it’s not that simple, but team executives and players largely buy into the plan.
The league is moving forward with the restart in Orlando — and Brogdon will be with it.