The Boston Celtics were one of the 28 teams who voted to continue the season, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers wanting to opt out.
The fate of the NBA season just took a wild and unexpected turn following the boycotting of every scheduled NBA game today and the likely postponement of tomorrow’s games as well. 28 teams–including the Boston Celtics–voted to continue the 2020 postseason amidst the social unrest sparked by the recent killings of unarmed black Americans like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and the recent shooting of Jacob Blake by police.
The two Los Angeles franchises were the two teams to walk out of the meeting and seemingly opt out of the season:
Sources: Every team besides Lakers and Clippers voted to continue playing. LeBron James said in meeting he want owners to be more involved/take action.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2020
What’s next isn’t immediately clear. Apparently things broke down during the proceedings:
Told the players’ meeting ended "ugly," per a source, with uncertainty about what will happen tomorrow. The union will be present at the special Board of Governors meeting, per a source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) August 27, 2020
And, despite support from the owners, the season ending right now would cast a monetary divide between the players’ association and the league:
Owners have been fully supportive of players decisions today. But expect there to be reminders to union officials in the coming hours: If the season is stopped short, there will be significant financial ramifications.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 27, 2020
The NBA is at the intersection of the most important civil rights movement of the millennium in a crucial election year, all the while playing out the season isolated from their families in the middle of a global pandemic. Whether the season will ultimately be canceled isn’t yet known. It seems as though we will find out more tomorrow and in the days ahead:
Discussions on continuing season will extend into tomorrow, sources tell ESPN, but appears unlikely the three playoff games on Thursday will be played. "Everyone is still too emotional," one high-ranking source tells ESPN. "There needs to be more time to come together on this."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2020
All we know is that there appears to be an overwhelming majority of teams trying to see this thing through, and the Boston Celtics are part of that group.