Brooklyn Nets superstar and former league MVP Kevin Durant seemed to find some humor in the unusual situation that recently led to the exit of Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. from the NBA “bubble.”
House missed Houston’s final three playoff games after the NBA determined that he had close contact with an unauthorized person in the team hotel — allegedly, a female COVID-19 testing official.
While testing officials are allowed inside the bubble, they go in and out each day and (unlike players) do not live there. Thus, as with maintenance staff, the NBA has strict protocols in place to minimize the potential exposure of those workers to personnel living at the bubble. House violated those safety protocols, so he faced harsh discipline.
The Rockets were 0-3 after losing House, so it’s certainly a sore subject within the team and its fan base. But for those removed from the situation, such as Durant, it could be more understandable.
In a recent appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast, Durant said:
If you’ve been in a bubble away from some action for three months? I mean, you can’t blame him, dog. And I heard it was no females at all outside of that [COVID testers]. The maids were all men, there was nothing but men around. After a couple months, you down 3-1? Nah. He said, ‘I don’t give a f–k no more, man.’
KD on the JBP was comedy.
😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ZkbRV4nJMJ
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) September 19, 2020
Jokes aside, Durant’s timeline is slightly off. The Rockets were down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers at the time of the NBA’s discipline, but the second-round series was tied, 1-1, when the incident took place.
Now 27 years old, House averaged 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game during the playoffs. The 6-foot-6 forward is under contract with Houston for two more seasons.
