Charles Barkley put himself into quarantine while waiting for his Coronavirus testing to be finished. The beloved NBA commentator and Space Jam star told the rest of the Inside the NBA crew about it during Thursday’s telecast. After displaying some symptoms and getting the COVID-19 test, the Hall of Famer called into the show to discuss how he’s doing. It was a strange night all around for the NBA as TNT had to replay February’s All-Star Game and last week’s Lakers/Bucks matchup to fill the time on-air.
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Barkley told his co-hosts, “I spent the earlier part of the week in New York City. When I got to Atlanta yesterday, I wasn’t feeling well. I talked to a couple people at Turner and a couple doctors and they told me to self-quarantine for the next 48 hours. I started yesterday, this is my second day.”
“I haven’t been feeling great and they didn’t want me to take any chances,” he continued. “I went and took the coronavirus test late this afternoon, I have not gotten the results back. So I’m just kinda in limbo right now. I’m really hoping it was just a bug.”
Charles Barkley reveals he fell ill and has been self-quarantined, has taken a coronavirus test but has not yet gotten the results pic.twitter.com/yyZnZ7z0eH
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This comes right after the multiple time All-Star had advocated for the league to continue playing games with no fans on The Late Show. That was the initial plan until Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. The contest between his team and the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed. Shortly after, the NBA elected to suspend the season and fans were left speechless.
The Space Jam star told Colbert on his show, “I’m like, OK, if they don’t come to games, are they not going to live their lives? Are they not going to go to work? Are they not going to go out and have dinner and things like that? Just not coming to a basketball game, I don’t think that’s going to solve all the issues.”
Over the last two days, it’s become painfully clear that this goes far beyond basketball. Hopefully, the Round Mound of Rebound can recover quickly from whatever bug he’s got.
Are you surprised that the NBA canceled their season? What will you be doing for the rest of the week? Let us know in the comments!
