DALLAS — Editor's note: The video above is from October.
Two more Mavs players - including point guard Luka Dončić - have been added to the team's COVID protocol list and will miss Thursday night's game against Milwaukee, according to the team.
Both Dončić and Trey Burke - another point guard - have been ruled out for the Dec. 23 home game at the American Airlines Center.
It comes just a day after four Dallas Mavericks players - Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber - were sidelined on Tuesday and missed that night's home game against the Timberwolves.
Dončić, who was on the bench during the team's Tuesday night win against Minnesota, was also seen before the game hanging out with friend, and Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, a guest broadcaster on the Mavs television broadcast for Bally Sports Southwest.
According to the NBA's COVID rules, players enter health and safety protocols f they test positive for the virus or if they receive an inconclusive test result. Additionally, any player who tests positive for COVID must be away from the team for a minimum of 10 days unless they return two negative PCR tests within a 24-hour span.
The news comes as an apparent COVID outbreak sweeps through the NBA and other pro sports leagues across the spectrum. Teams everywhere are trying to contain the transmission of the virus, which appears to be tearing through players in the not only the NBA, but also the NFL and the NHL.
The NHL announced Monday it will begin a leaguewide shutdown Wednesday as the number of positive COVID-19 tests results among players increases. New reports also suggest the league might withdraw from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.
The NBA has also struggled with outbreaks among its players and teams. Leaguewide through Sunday evening, there were at least 75 players from 20 teams who have either been ruled out to play or would have been ruled out because they are under COVID protocols. The NBA has previously said 97% of players are fully vaccinated and somewhere around 60% had received boosters as of last week.
The NFL, for its part, has revised its protocols so that only unvaccinated players and those experiencing possible symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested.
Material from the Associated Press appears in this report.
Subscribe to the Playbook with Joe Trahan, our Friday newsletter with all the Cowboys news you need to make you smarter before each game.