With the NBA playoffs in full swing, the league is allowing families of players to visit the bubble in Orlando. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers will not take advantage of this opportunity; however, due to one primary reason. “There is nothing for them to do,” he said as an explanation.
“I mean, I’ve got a 16-year-old. I mean, he’s going to sit in the bubble and do what?” James said to reporters per Yahoo Sports. “I’ve got a 13-year-old. He’s going to do what? Five-year-old girl, there’s nothing for her to do. The park isn’t open. I mean, there’s only so many times she can go to the pool. My kids are too adventurous, and they love to do so much stuff.
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“It makes no sense for them to be here,” James continued. “There’s nothing for them to do here. Go outside. Come back in. Go outside. Come back in. They can stay in L.A., and they’re great. There’s literally nothing for them to do here. This is not a kid-friendly place. Let’s be honest.”
The Lakers are currently facing off with the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. If James and his crew secure victory in the series and ultimately reach the NBA Finals, he will remain far away from his children until October. He will get to see his wife, Savannah, considering that she made the trip to Orlando.
The NBA previously sent a memo to the teams and confirmed that some guests could travel to Orlando to visit the players. This included “player’s families and longtime close personal friends,” per CNN. The memo said that players could host no more than four guests and that each team had 17 available rooms.
While players could have guests visit them, achieving this was not a simple matter. Each team had to appoint a “Player Guest Liason” to act as a point of contact between the team and the league. Additionally, the teams would have to assign a “Quarantine Coordinator” to their respective markets to ensure that guests had met requirements for the health protocols. This includes a seven-day quarantine at home. The guests also had to complete a seven-day in-room quarantine upon their arrival in Orlando.
At the time of the announcement, all 342 players in the bubble had tested negative for COVID-19. Having their guests would help continue this trend and keep the players healthy for the playoffs. However, the coronavirus protocols were less of a factor in James’ decision to keep his kids in Los Angeles. He just knew that they would have nothing to do.
