Pacers’ Brogdon in quarantine after positive test for virus
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon said Tuesday he has been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Malcolm Brogdon #7 of the Indiana Pacers dribbles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on February 10, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP
Team officials made the announcement by posting Brogdon’s statement on Twitter.
“I recently tested positive for the COVID virus and am currently in quarantine,” the statement read. “I’m doing well, feeling well and progressing well. I plan to join my teammates in Orlando for the resumption of the NBA season and playoffs.”
Indiana began testing players earlier this week and is scheduled to arrive in Orlando in early July to resume full practices.
NBA officials have announced they will quarantine teams for 24 hours before practices can begin.
It’s also not the first time the Pacers organization has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Myles Turner’s father was hospitalized in Texas with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, but has recovered.
Brogdon wasn’t healthy before the season was suspended, sitting out with a leg and hip muscle injury. But the stoppage allowed him to recover.
He was averaging 16.3 points, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 48 games this season, his first with Indiana.
“Malcolm says he’s 100 percent, ready to go,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in mid-April. “He is hungry.”
Brogdon also has become a prominent voice speaking out against racial injustice. He and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics spoke at protest in Atlanta following the death of George Floyd.
Brogdon has said he hopes to lead a march in Indianapolis, though he did not speak at one held two weeks ago in Indy. His grandfather, John Hurst Adams, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement.
But with other NBA players voicing concerns about resuming the season amid the continuing protests, Brogdon had decided he would play.
“I think guys across the NBA have very, very mixed views, and it’s very polarized. Some don’t want to play, and I understand that,” he said earlier this month.
Brogdon’s test result raises another question about the Pacers roster.
The Indianapolis Star has reported backup guard Justin Holiday may not play and two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo told ESPN.com on Saturday he intended to ramp up his activities with the team this week before making a decision.
Oladipo returned to the court in late January following from a year-long recovery from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee and was just rounding into form when play stopped. If Oladipo does play, the Pacers intend to be cautious with their star.
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