PORTLAND, Ore — The NBA playoffs will resume Saturday after the league and the National Basketball Players Association detailed the commitments that made players comfortable continuing the postseason.
The Portland Trail Blazers will play Game 5 of their series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.
In a joint statement released Friday, the sides say they will immediately establish a social justice coalition, made up of players, coaches and owners, that would focus on issues such as voting access and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.
Many NBA arenas will become voting sites for the November election.
The Trail Blazers released the following statement about the Moda Center to KGW:
“As you are aware, Oregon is a mail in state. Our organization is currently discussing the best way to utilize our facility. We are working to encourage employees and fans to complete the census, register to vote and get out to vote. We are part of the national Rally the Vote non-partisan coalition of pro-sports teams and nonprofits working in this space and are partnering with local nonprofits and local county and government offices on efforts in Oregon. Furthermore, we are engaging personalities to encourage participation, building a webpage of resource at trailblazers.com/vote, sharing weekly social posts driving actions and seeking way to volunteer for these efforts.”
The NBA playoffs stopped Wednesday when the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t take the court for their playoff game against Orlando, showing their frustration with the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin and acts of racial injustice.
Other teams followed the Bucks' lead, and the NBA later postponed its scheduled playoff games for the next two days while players and coaches discussed their next steps.
