New York major gives major update with important implications for Kyrie Irving

New York City Mayor Eric Adams provided an important update on the city’s COVID-19 response, which could pave the way for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to make his home-game debut in 2022. Under the current guidelines, unvaccinated players are not allowed to attend fitness and entertainment venues like Barclays Center.

The health and safety update comes as New York continues seeing a drop in COVID-19 cases over recent weeks. The slate of changes starts this week with public schools returning to in-person classes with the possibility of no mask mandates by March 7.

“So long as our indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also remove the vaccination requirements for Key2NYC — meaning indoor dining, fitness and entertainment venues,” Adams tweeted.

The final decision for the school mask mandate will come by March 4, according to Mayor Adams. While it is not immediately clear whether the same deadline for a decision on fitness and entertainment venues will apply, it is another positive sign.

To this point, Kyrie Irving has only played road games for the Brooklyn Nets thanks to the New York City vaccination requirement. He is averaging 25.1 points and 5.7 assists in 15 games this season.

More on Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets

The new COVID-19 guidelines on March 7 do not guarantee a quick chance to play for Kyrie Irving, but it will continue paving the path toward his “inevitable” return, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“Here’s interpretation on NYC Mayor’s announcement: Kyrie Irving remains restricted from playing under NYC mandate for large employers,” Wojnarowski tweeted after the announcement by Mayor Eric Adams.

The Brooklyn Nets currently sit at 32-29 with 21 games left to play. With Kyrie Irving currently only available for road games, Kevin Durant out with injury and newly acquired star Ben Simmons continuing the reconditioning process after sitting out months with the Philadelphia 76ers to address mental health concerns, they have struggled through recent weeks.

With the potential full return of all three on the horizon, the Nets will have a chance to try avoiding the NBA’s four-team play-in tournament for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Under the format, the No. 7 and No. 8 teams play, with the winner claiming the 7-seed and the loser facing the winner of No. 9 and No. 10 for the 8-seed.

The Nets are currently 3.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 6 spot, which would help them avoid that scenario.