NBA players won't get paid for missed games due to being unvaccinated

NBA players who cannot play in New York, San Francisco or other locations with vaccination mandates because they are not vaccinated will not be paid for games they are forced to miss, ESPN and other outlets reported on Wednesday morning.

The news comes as the NBA finalizes its health and safety protocols for the upcoming season, which gets underway on Oct. 19.

"Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement to the media on Wednesday.

The league's regulations for players not vaccinated against COVID-19 are already strict. They will be extra stringent for Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden in New York and Chase Center in San Francisco because of executive orders passed in both cities requiring proof of vaccination.

Both the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors are already dealing with the prospect of players not taking the court because of their vaccination status, or lack thereof. Nets star Kyrie Irving could not attend the team's media day on Monday because he is not vaccinated. On the West Coast, Warriors shooting guard Andrew Wiggins was recently denied religious exemption from getting the vaccine and has caused a stir by saying he doesn't think the press should be allowed to ask him about his vaccination status. 

The NBA and the players association are also still at odds over how to get the entire league vaccinated. Although the league is reportedly 90 percent vaccinated, the NBPA doesn't want a league-wide mandate requiring the vaccine.

Many players who are fully inoculated are speaking out in favor of the vaccine, including Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. 

"It's pretty simple," Lillard said. "I’m not mad at people for saying, ‘I need to do my research,’ or taking the steps that make them comfortable. But I have a lot of people in my family that I’m tight with and spend a lot of time around and I’m just not going to put their health or their lives in danger."