By Scott Davis
- After boycotting playoff games on Wednesday to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake, NBA players held a tense meeting that is said to have ended “ugly.”
- According to reports, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers voted to end the season early, though one ESPN report painted it as “polling” rather than a formal vote.
- According to one report, LeBron James called for action from team owners toward social-justice reform and left the meeting early.
- Other teams still in the NBA bubble reportedly voted to continue playing the season, but discussions are ongoing.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The NBA season is on the brink of ending early after a meeting Wednesday involving players, coaches, and referees that David Aldridge of The Athletic described as ending “ugly.”
The remaining teams in the Disney World bubble held a meeting after all six NBA teams scheduled to play on Wednesday boycotted games to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The boycotts began when the Milwaukee Bucks did not take the floor for Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic.
Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported — and it has since been reported by other NBA insiders — that both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers voted to boycott the remainder of the season. According to Charania, LeBron James left the meeting early and was followed by the remainder of the Lakers and the Clippers.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski described the vote as “more of a polling” than a final vote and said there hadn’t been a final decision.
Charania reported that the other remaining teams voted to continue playing.
During the meeting, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that players felt sitting out one game was “meaningless.” Additionally, players, including James, demanded to see action from owners, according to Mannix, who added that some believed the season might be over if action couldn’t be agreed upon.
The NBA reporter Jeff Goodman tweeted that one NBA player called the meeting “emotional” and “heated” but hoped cooler heads would prevail Thursday.
Wojnarowski reported that meetings will most likely to continue Thursday, though the three playoff games scheduled Thursday will most likely be postponed.
