It is the badge of courage that defines NBA perseverance: the flu game.
For some, the folklore changes over the years, as appears to be the case with Michael Jordan. For others, it is what delineates their determination, with Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James all offering such moments.
But now, during a time like no other in the NBA — or sports as a whole — pushing through a fever isn’t about selflessness. It’s about the opposite.
It is against that landscape, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, that sports are working toward a return — one temperature check at a time.
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The practice already has begun as NBA teams open their training facilities for individual workouts. It assuredly will remain mandatory procedure when/if the league returns to training camps and then competition.
And it is going to require a change in perspective amid this new norm.
“Many times, I personally came to the arena with a high temperature, and my only concern was staying hydrated and possibly having an IV,” former NBA forward and current NBA TV analyst Caron Butler told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week.
The difference, of course, is there is a vaccine for the flu, one teams make available to players on the eve of every season. There is no such inoculation against COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “a fever for COVID-19 purposes is any temperature at 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit/38 degrees Celsius or higher.”
Such a relatively low threshold would have changed the equation for many players over the years.
“Back when we were playing in the ’90s,” former Heat guard Tim Hardaway told the Sun Sentinel, “we used to play sick all the time. If you had the flu and you could play, you played, because it actually made you feel better while you were out there.”
But Hardaway, who went on to become an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, said that eventually changed.
“Now they send you home or back to the hotel, or stay in the locker room, to stay away from everyone,” he said. “Now players don’t play when they have a fever, because it’s not good for the rest of the team. We played through 100.4.”
With the NBA likely to move quickly toward the playoffs if there is a resumption, such a failed temperature test could have significant implications, even if the player otherwise felt healthy enough to play. That is what makes so significant the quick-turnaround testing the league is seeking to put in place in advance of a return.
One former Heat player who still works in the league and therefore requested anonymity, told the Sun Sentinel that it was not uncommon for players to attempt to hide symptoms in order to be allowed to play.
“Guys would take an Advil and roll,” he said. “I don’t think that was an uncommon practice.”
He paused and then made sure to add, “But now, that would be irresponsible.”
To a degree, that makes this no time for heroes, and what once was considered courageous.
For the Heat, such a moment came in Game 6 of the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Detroit Pistons, on the way to the 2006 NBA title.
That’s when Wade went from the hospital, after missing the morning shootaround, to the court on the same day while dealing with flu symptoms.
“We just took him out of the ambulance,” then-coach Pat Riley said. “We felt that I needed to go over the game plan with him.
“There ain’t no Plan B.”
Now, Plan B could become a way of life, with 100.4 a stat line all its own.
“I have played a couple of times with a high temperature,” former Heat forward Glen Rice told the Sun Sentinel, “but nothing where it was a danger to my health.
“I do understand now it would be viewed differently because of the current circumstances with the coronavirus.”