During 2021 NBA Finals, at least 12 people close to Bucks and Suns tested positive for COVID-19, per report – CBSSports.com

At least a dozen staffers, family members and associates of the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2021 NBA Finals in July, according to a Rolling Stone story by Matt Sullivan.

Rolling Stone reported that:

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The story suggests the NBA dodged a bullet four months ago. A senior Bucks employee is quoted using that exact phrase, adding that the team "didn't know who else was gonna come up positive" after Thanasis did.

The league's position, essentially, is that the system worked. In response to the COVID Delta variant spreading at an alarming rate, it ramped up some of its restrictions.

"Because of a high vaccination rate, the enhancements to our protocols -- including increasing testing frequency, reinstituting face masks at team facilities for all players, and limiting the number of staff who could interact with players -- and the diligence from the Bucks' and Suns' players and staff, we were able to prevent any coronavirus transmission among players and safely complete the Finals," said David Weiss, the NBA's senior vice president of player matters.

"There was no outbreak," Weiss said, adding that the league never considered postponing a Finals game. The NBA official who was traveling with the Bucks, however, said that the team wasn't worried about a potential postponement, but rather the possibility that Giannis would have to join his brother in the health and safety protocols -- and miss the rest of the series. Rolling Stone cited team officials on both sides describing panic, frustration with uncooperative family members and, in the hours before Game 6, "a lot of nervousness" as they waited for test results.

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During 2021 NBA Finals, at least 12 people close to Bucks and Suns tested positive for COVID-19, per report - CBSSports.com