The National Basketball Association (NBA) postponed the season's opening game between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunders after COVID-19 contact tracing.

James Harden
(Photo : Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

NBA is one of the national sports leagues in the country that has stringent rules in implementing health and safety protocols against COVID-19.

NBA Commissioner already said before that NBA teams and players will face severe consequences if violations will be committed. 

Read also: NBA Teams to Face Severe Penalties, Paycheck Cuts for Violations of COVID-19 Protocols 

Houston Rockets Tested for COVID-19

The NBA tested all players of the Houston Rockets for COVID-19 that forced some of them to quarantine. Results of the tests show that players either tested positive or inconclusive. The league also ruled out that James Harden violated NBA's COVID-19 protocols.

The NBA released its official statement on Wednesday afternoon that said, "Three Houston Rockets players have returned tests that were either positive or inconclusive for coronavirus under the NBA's testing program. Following the contact tracing protocol, four other players are quarantined at this time."

In addition to that, they also said that James Harden will not be able to play after violating the health and safety protocols. Fortunately, when the Rockets players were tested, none of them tested positive for the virus.

Moreover, Houston also sustained yet another loss to the team because one of their players had an injury.

"As such, the Rockets do not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tonight's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder," the statement reads.

Cause of Contact Tracing

According to Yahoo Sports,  ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said that Kenyon Martin, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins were among the players who gathered in an apartment for haircuts. This prompted an immediate contact tracing. 

The news over COVID-19 concerns around the Rockets broke on Wednesday morning. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Kenyon Martin Jr., and rookie Jae'Sean Tate were reportedly previously ruled out due to contact tracing.

The league's action is to make sure that there will be no virus outbreak among the players.

Read also: More NBA Players Test Positive for COVID-19 Ahead of the New Season 

James Harden Allegedly Violated the Protocols

Houston Rockets star player James Harden is now under investigation after a leaked video showed that Harden made an appearance at a strip club without wearing a mask.

Harden, who is in a dispute with the team's management for a trade demand, responded in the already-deleted video on Instagram.

"One thing after another. I went to show love to my homegirl at her event (not a strip club) because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position of success and now it's a problem. Every day it's something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under you can't. The real always end on top."

Second Day of NBA's New Season 

The scheduled game between Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunders is the second day of NBA in the new season outside the Disney World bubble.

This means that teams and players will be traveling from one place to the other to have their games provided that they will strictly follow the protocol. 

NBA was able to conclude the previous season after they decided to have all the games inside the Disney World Bubble. There were no players who reported positive for the virus at that time.

However, with the recent report of COVID-19 violations, there might be some changes in the upcoming days.