MINNEAPOLIS — Friday evening the Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies game became the 13th NBA game this season postponed as the league battles the effects of COVID-19, and shortly after the announcement, star center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he has tested positive for the virus.
The game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m. at Target Center, was postponed due to health and safety protocols, per the league's official announcement. Ongoing contact tracing within the Timberwolves team left them without the required eight available players.
A rescheduled date has not been announced, and it's unclear whether the Wolves game scheduled for Monday in Atlanta will be affected.
Towns has lost multiple family members to the virus, including his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, making his positive test result even more sobering.
"Prior to tonight's game, I received yet another awful call that I tested positive for COVID," Towns tweeted. "I will immediately isolate and follow every protocol. I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions. We cannot stop the spread of this virus alone, it must be a group effort by all of us.'
Until this week, the Wolves had been one of the few teams not hit with absences due to COVID-19 and any subsequent contact tracing.
But that started to change Thursday, when the team announced that both Ricky Rubio and Juancho Hernangomez would miss Friday's game due to "health and safety protocols."
That meant either Hernangomez and/or Rubio tested positive for the virus or were exposed to it. The Star Tribune Thursday confirmed a report from the Athletic that said Hernangomez would be isolating, likely up to 10 days. Under NBA guidelines, any player who tests positive for the virus must sit out at least 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
Wolves radio voice Alan Horton tweeted that Wolves staff members and "a half-dozen players" were on the arena floor preparing for a walk-through late this afternoon when they were told of the postponement.
This is the latest in a number of virus-related postponements that have hit the league this week, and it comes as the NBA and the league's players association announced on Tuesday stiffened protocols players must abide by.
For at least two weeks, the league and union said, players and staff will be required to remain at home when in their home market and are prohibited from leaving their hotels while on the road except, primarily, for practices and games.
