The NBA is serious about its COVID-19 restrictions. They don’t want players from opposing teams having any close contact before or after games — like hugging or shaking hands — and those rules are being enforced.
We saw that in action on Saturday night. After the Brooklyn Nets beat the Miami Heat 128-124, Kyrie Irving and Bam Adebayo tried to get together for the now-traditional show of friendship and/or respect between opponents: the hug and jersey exchange. They didn’t get far before they were thwarted by a member of the Heat security team, who intervened to break up their friendly conversation.