Sacramento Kings Head Coach Alvin Gentry Tests Positive For COVID-19
Dec 15, 2021, 9:18 AM | Updated: 12:34 pm
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Gentry is largely asymptomatic and can return after successive negative tests 24 hours apart
Sacramento Kings head coach Alvin Gentry has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be on the sideline tonight at Golden 1 Center.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the 67-year-old head coach has shared that he is feeling “largely asymptomatic, except for a scratchy throat” after testing positive for the virus.
Sacramento has cancelled morning shoot-around and will conduct more testing to determine if there are more positive tests within the coaching staff and roster. The Kings are scheduled to face the Washington Wizards tonight at Golden 1 Center.
Gentry will be able to return to the sideline after registering successive negative tests 24 hours apart.
Former Kings guard and first-year assistant coach Doug Christie will act as head coach during Gentry’s absence, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The NBA and NFL have seen a large uptick in positive COVID-19 cases over the past 72 hours, with the NBA having to postpone multiple Chicago Bulls games due to the team having 10 of its players test positive for the virus and the NFL reporting its most positive cases over a 24-hour period since the pandemic began in early 2020.
While no work stoppage is currently expected from either league, the concerns around COVID-19 and the Omicron variant are growing by each positive test.