League’s vax issue has easy solution

Stars such as Irving and Beal fail to embrace the vaccination effort instead of doing the right thing.

David Letterman, the legendary former late-night talk-show host, pretended to be a reporter from a made-up publication and asked Kevin Durant why people called him “KD.”

Durant, without cracking much of a smile, explained the concept of initials in what turned out to be the second-easiest question NBA stars were asked in the first round of media days Monday.

The easiest, of course, was “Are you vaccinated?” — one that more than 90% of players in the NBA has answered privately by receiving either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shot or one dose of the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.

It should be an easy “Yes” — the vaccines are safe, effective and have provided NBA players with a pathway to as much normalcy as possible since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the first day of the preseason made it clear — things won’t be as easy as they could, and should, be.

The vaccine is mandated for coaches and team employees. It’s mandated for NBA officials and for the journalists who want to cover players face to face. It is, however, still a matter of personal