Report: Unvaccinated NBA Players Will Remain Ineligible to Play in Toronto, League Says

The NBA has reportedly reminded teams that unvaccinated players will still be unable to play in Toronto against the Raptors this season

All Raptors Staff | Aug 8, 2022

The NBA has reminded teams that unvaccinated players will once again be prohibited from entering Canada to play the Toronto Raptors next season under the current federal guidelines, according to Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.

Sources: NBA informed teams via memo today that, as it stands, non-vaccinated NBA players without a valid medical reason will still be ineligible to play in Toronto for the 2022-23 season.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) August 8, 2022

Both the Canadian and United States federal governments continue to prohibit unvaccinated people from crossing the border for athletic purposes.

It's unclear exactly how many players were prohibited from entering the Canada last season, but the rule did force the Philadelphia 76ers to play in Toronto without Matisse Thybulle who was unvaccinated as of the NBA post-season.

Multiple Major League Baseball players have been barred entry into Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays this year.

Last season the Raptors were 100% fully vaccinated as of the start of the NBA season and therefore had no issues crossing the border. In theory, any unvaccinated Raptors player would be unable to travel across the border throughout the season, meaning everyone on Toronto's roster must be vaccinated in order to participate in games.

The NBA reached at least 97% fully vaccinated last season, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. In order to be considered fully vaccinated for travel players must have received two doses of an approved vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and wait the required 14 days following the final dose.

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