LOS ANGELES -- When the curtain comes up on the new NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers expect all of their performers to be on stage.
"On opening night when we play the Golden State Warriors, all of the players that are currently signed on our roster, on that night, will be deemed fully vaccinated," Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said on a video conference call Thursday. "We're really grateful for that."
While the league won't mandate players to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as reported last week by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Baxter Holmes, certain teams will have to follow stricter health and safety protocols than others based on the health and safety requirements of their state and county.