The NBA’s preseason began on Friday night with a number of teams working off the rust following either an incredibly short offseason or one that dated back to March, depending on whether or not they got the chance to participate in the Orlando Bubble. One preseason game that featured two Orlando squads pitted the Portland Trail Blazers, which got to the postseason, against the Sacramento Kings, which saw its time in the Bubble end in the seeding games.
It was a generally unremarkable preseason game — Portland came out on top, 127-102, behind big nights from Carmelo Anthony and Harry Giles off the bench — but it also featured a funny moment involving Blazers guard CJ McCollum and Kings coach Luke Walton. For one reason or another, Walton had to bark an instruction to someone on the floor, which he thought meant he needed to pull down his mask.
McCollum, posted up on the bench, noticed this, and from his seat, reminded Walton that the game is happening in the midst of a pandemic, and he needs to keep his mask up.
Mask up, everyone. pic.twitter.com/7qsCxH6dDo
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 12, 2020
Walton ended up obliging, and after the game, McCollum sent a message: keep your masks on.
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) December 12, 2020
Whether this was a message to Walton specifically or all of us is unclear, but hey, let’s keep our masks on.
