Two seasons after the bubble and one season after playing games in empty arenas, the NBA was supposed to return to a sense of normalcy in 2021–22. Instead, LeBron James took the floor on Christmas Day with Darren Collison and Stanley Johnson, while 40-year-old Joe Johnson drilled a pull-up jumper in his first game with the Celtics since 2002.
The reason? In December, with the highly transmissible omicron variant making its way through the country, hundreds of NBA players entered “health and safety protocols.” According to Fansure Sports, more than 280 players—over half the league—have spent time in the protocols this season, with more than 2,000 player days lost to the coronavirus.