Lakers star LeBron James is not letting the coronavirus stand in the way of practice. Instead, James is holding small, private, one-on-one sessions with his teammates.
The Lakers did open their facilities for the players, but it is still a no-no for the whole team to pound the boards at once. So, James is sponsoring small sessions on a closed-off, private court with one or two other teammates at a time to keep their skills sharp, according to TMZ Sports.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, James is enforcing safety protocols for each session, testing players for coronavirus, and is making sure social distancing rules are being enforced.
“All the safety measures have been taken,” Shams says. “In these private workouts, everyone has been tested, everyone involved has practiced social distancing.”
Charania did not elaborate on what this “testing” entails.
Meanwhile, Lakers small forward Danny Green added that the team has put in place a number of policies for players returning to the facilities.
During a visit with the Load Management podcast, Green laid out what it is like to enter the facilities.
“I got tested before [entering], they do the swab. They stick a Q-tip in your damn brain. Scramble it around,” Green explained. “[After you test negative] you come in the facility, you have to wear your workout gear as you come in. The shoes that you have on, you have to take off at the door. They give you flip-flops at the front. You have to sanitize your hands, sanitize your phone, keys, etc.”
Green continued:
“[Once you’re done in the training room] you have your time in the weight room, on the court, however it is, vice-versa.
“But when you’re working with the trainer you’re not supposed to be touching. You’re supposed to be 12 feet apart. So they instruct you what to do, how to do it. You do your weights
“For the players, you’re allowed to take your mask off if you can’t workout with your mask because, obviously, you can’t breathe. But the training staff, everybody, has masks on. When you get to the court they have a seat for you, where your shoes are.
“You change into your basketball shoes. They you have your time that they put on the clock, like 45 minutes or so. And then, once that time is up, you have five minutes to get out.”
“You don’t use the locker room,” Green concluded. “You can’t shower there.”
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