Cory Joseph, Buddy Hield

Sacramento’s Buddy Hield, right, is one of 16 NBA players who have tested positive for coronavirus. Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

The NBA announced on Friday that of the 302 players tested for coronavirus earlier this week, 16 results were positive.

Some of the players who tested positive have already been reported, including guard Buddy Hield and forward Jabari Parker of the Sacramento Kings. Denver star Nikola Jokic tested positive as well.

“Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician,” the league said in a statement.

The league administered its tests on June 23. The results suggest the NBA’s positive test rate of 5.3 percent is roughly in line with the country at large, which has hovered around six percent in the last two weeks. Coronavirus cases around the country have recently spiked significantly, especially in states like Texas, Arizona and – most notably for the NBA – Florida, where the league’s restart is slated to take place at Disney World.

According to reports, NBA teams have been informed of their time frame for entering the Orlando bubble with the Celtics going in on July 8 with the Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Pelicans, Thunder and Kings. The Disney World restart is scheduled to begin on July 30.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the situation “might not be for everyone” and said no player who sits out will be found in breach of his contract.

“It will entail enormous sacrifice on behalf of those players and for everyone involved, the coaches, the referees,” Silver said on ESPN. “Listen, it’s not an ideal situation. We’re trying to find a way to our own normal in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of essentially a recession or worse with 40 million unemployed. And now with enormous social unrest in the country. So as we work through these issues, I can understand how some players may feel that it’s not for them.”


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