Russell Westbrook suspected to be COVID-19 positive based on recent Instagram activity

Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook has been suspected to be infected with COVID-19 after not travelling to Orlando with his team. People have also pointed out at his Instagram activity, which could hint at the player's diagnosis. Along with Westbrook, Rockets star James Harden was also absent when the team arrived at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. 

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Russell Westbrook coronavirus rumours: Russell Westbrook tests positive before NBA restart?

Houston stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook did not travel with Rockets today to Orlando and will join the team in near future, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania)

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The Athletic's Shams Charania first reported that Westbrook and James Harden were not travelling with the team on Tuesday. While no reason for their absence was provided, reports stated that both players will join the team 'in the near future'. Later, Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen reported that along with Westbrook and James Harden, newcomer Luc Mbah a Moute and development coach John Lucas were also not present on the flight.

Westbrook, who had been posting workout videos throughout quarantine, did not post anything since late June. However, he posted a photo of himself in a black cloth mask around the same time Rockets arrived in Orlando. A few days after Westbrook's last post on June 21, Adrian Wojnarowski had reported one playoff team had four COVID-19 positive players on June 23.

Last weekend, Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha stated that some of his teammates had contracted the virus in June. Sefolosha is among a few NBA players who has opted out of the NBA restart in Orlando. 

While the players' identities are being kept private, people believe Westbrook might have the virus. A few ago, Nina Westbrook posted about missing Westbrook on Instagram, to which the Rockets star replied by saying he misses them too. This made people believe that Westbrook was quarantined elsewhere. As per the NBA's policies, players will have to quarantine for ten days and test negative at least twice before being able to rejoin the team. 

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James Harden and Russell Westbrook were not among the players the Rockets made available on Zoom calls over the last two weeks

— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane)

Russell Westbrook coronavirus: Rockets players tests positive for coronavirus

As coronavirus testing for players heading to Orlando starts today, teams are bracing for significant numbers of positive tests. One Western Conference playoff team had four positives in past few weeks, per sources. Full training camps start on July 11 at Disney.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)

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The Houston Rockets were ranked sixth on the Western Conference with a 40-24 win-loss record before the season was suspended in March after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11. James Harden was averaging a league-leading 34.4 points, 6.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, while Westbrook was scoring 27.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. The Rockets will kick off their eight seeding games before the traditional NBA postseason series by playing the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, July 31 8:00 PM EST (Saturday, August 1, 5:30 AM IST). 

(Image source: NBA official site)