Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Relaxed vaccine rules in New York could allow Kyrie Irving to play Nets home games soon

Kyrie Irving hasn't played a home game for the Brooklyn Nets since the 2021 postseason, but New York City may soon lift the vaccine mandate that has kept the point guard limited to road games.

On Wednesday, New York City mayor Eric Adams was asked if the city envisioned phasing out the vaccine passport program required for most indoor activities.

"Yes, I can't wait to get it done," Adams said. "I'm ready to get ahead of all of this and get back to a level of normalcy, but [health professionals] are giving us clear instructions, they're giving us benchmarks. We're going to follow those benchmarks, but I look forward in the next for weeks, going through a real transformation."

The answer from Adams comes one week after the mayor told reporters that he finds the vaccine rules that have kept Irving out of action "unfair."

Irving, 29, has given little explanation for his hard-line stance against the COVID-19 vaccine, only telling fans that it's "about being true to what feels good." 

The Nets were 23-10 at the end of December but have slid to 31-28 and currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The team has been without Kevin Durant after the star suffered a knee injury in January, and Brooklyn made waves earlier in February by trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that included Ben Simmons.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Nuggets coach got heated with Timberwolves fans
Nuggets make incredible NBA history with Game 3 win
Broncos release former Super Bowl champion WR
Steelers first-round pick has already 'apologized' to new locker mate
Giants place Gold Glove shortstop on IL
Suns to hire ex-NBA champion as new head coach
MVP Jokic, Nuggets blow out Timberwolves on road in Game 3
Panthers dominate Bruins again to take 2-1 series lead
ESPN has big plans for Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut
Angels superstar explains why he chose not to play through knee injury
Bears make big, but not surprising Caleb Williams announcement
Cardinals to sign WR who commanded extensive interest
Jayson Tatum refutes narrative that Celtics are a 'superteam'
Watch: Kyle Busch crashes in Truck Series race at Darlington
Oilers work overtime to tie Canucks at 1-1
Former NBA big man sentenced to 40 months in prison
Peyton Manning reveals Bill Belichick's role on 'ManningCast' for this season
NBA Hall of Famer questions Knicks longevity in face of high playoff workloads
Falcons rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. details first interaction with Kirk Cousins
Insider reveals Mike Budenholzer's humongous contract figures to be Suns HC