LeBron James has been put into NBA isolation after ‘testing positive’ for COVID, the Lakers star won’t play against Sacramento Kings tonight.
Michael Babcock, the executive producer of TMZ Sports, said James, 36, took three COVID tests on Tuesday and two were positive.
‘Test 1 (lateral flow) was positive. The 2nd (PCR) test was negative,’ Babcock tweeted.
‘James was then given a 3rd tiebreaker test which came back positive. I’m told he’s asymptotic at this time.
‘Team chartered a private jet to take Lebron back to L.A.’
Under the rules imposed by the NBA, anyone who comes into close contact with a COVID-positive person must then quarantine.
James’ reported positive test means he’ll miss Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
The news was reported by Lakers’ beat reporter Mike Trudell, and retweeted by the team.
In September, James confirmed he was fully vaccinated.
‘I know that for me I can speak about myself,’ James said.
‘I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family, and things of that nature.
‘I know that I was very [skeptical] about it all, but after doing my research, and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and for my friends, and that’s why I decided to do it.’
Rob Pelinka, Lakers president of basketball operations, said at the end of August that he expected all of the players currently on the team’s roster to be deemed fully vaccinated by their first game on October 19.
Forward Anthony Davis said at the time that ‘if he’s not mistaken,’ he thinks every player on the team is vaccinated already.
James has only competed in 11 of the Lakers’ 22 games this season after being sidelined with an abdominal strain and serving a one-game suspension for an on-court incident against the Detroit Piston.
The Lakers are currently 11-11, good for seventh in the Western Conference.
James is in the midst of a terrible few weeks, with the COVID quarantine coming four days after he was fined $15,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture known as ‘Big Balls Dance’ during a game, and was also warned for using profane language.
