Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James says he won't play if games are scheduled behind closed doors due to fears over the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yesterday the NBA wrote to clubs asking them to prepare for the possibility of playing matches without fans in attendance to a bid to control the spread of coronavirus.
"Play games without the fans? No, simple answer," James said after the Lakers game against Milwaukee. "I ain't playing if we haven't got the fans in the crowd, that's who I play for.
"I play for my team-mates, I play for the fans, that's what it's all about. If I show up to an arena and there are no fans in there, I ain't playing."
On the court LeBron scored 37 points in the Lakers' 113-110 victory against the Bucks and in the process become the third-highest scorer in the league's history - reaching 34,000 career points.
Boston Celtics' guard Kemba Walker says players are hoping that the situation of games behind closed doors doesn't come to pass.
"That would be terrible," he told ESPN. "That would be boring. They might as well cancel the whole game before that. That would suck. But at the end of the day, it is getting serious. I don't know. It would be very weird though for sure."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
