As we speak the Miami our going head to head against the Denver Nuggets. Fans are able to watch online as the NBA players are still occupying in what many are calling a bubble - with strict rules in effort to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. The "bubble" is at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida where the players are calling home for the remainder of the season.
You might also notice that players are not all showing their last name but messages....
"In the wake of widespread protests this spring and summer sparked by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others, the league and its players’ union agreed on a list of social justice messages players can choose to put on their jersey in lieu of their last name. The messages will be displayed above the number during the first four days of the season restart, after which players can choose to either simply go back to displaying their last name or keep both the social justice message and their last name on their jersey."-washingtonpost.com
List of messages that the NBPA AND NBA agreed on are as follows according to an article written on ESPN.COM;
- Black Lives Matter;
- Say Their Names;
- Vote;
- I Can't Breathe;
- Justice;
- Peace;
- Equality;
- Freedom;
- Enough;
- Power to the People;
- Justice Now;
- Say Her Name;
- Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can);
- Liberation;
- See Us;
- Hear Us;
- Respect Us;
- Love Us;
- Listen;
- Listen to Us;
- Stand Up;
- Ally;
- Anti-Racist;
- I Am A Man;
- Speak Up;
- How Many More;
- Group Economics;
- Education Reform; and
- Mentor.
National Basketball Players' Association executive director Michele Roberts mentioned that there also will be social justice messages on jerseys in languages other than English, including Slovenian, Italian, French Creole, Latvian, Maori, Hebrew, Bosnian and Portuguese.Oklahoma City Thunderguard and NBPA executive directorChris Paul plans to have "EQUALITY" on the back of his jersey.