Speculation Rising That Russell Westbrook and James Harden Have Tested Positive for COVID-19

Now that every NBA team has reported to the league’s bubble site, there are two superstars who are notably absent.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden of the Houston Rockets did not fly with the rest of the team to Orlando, Fla. on Thursday as scheduled.

As a result, some have speculated that both guards have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The rumor started when Rockets guard Thabo Sefolosha decided last Wednesday to opt out of the season’s restart.

Days later, he told the media in his native Switzerland that several of his Rockets teammates had tested positive for the coronavirus. Sefolosha gave no details, and no one in the Rockets organization confirmed Sefolosha’s claims.

Suspicions that Westbrook and Harden specifically have become infected arose when USA Today’s Rockets Wire reported that neither star was available for the team’s Zoom interviews last Friday.

In addition, Westbrook hasn’t posted a workout video on social media since June 22, and Harden has posted one since June 3.

The state of Texas has recently become one of the newest hot spots for the spread of the coronavirus. The greater Houston area has been hit much harder than any other region of the Lone Star State.