Players can opt for a medical clearance provided by a doctor to bypass the ruling.

The latest news out of the NBA is the ruling for COVID vaccination in Canada.

Players will either need to have either received a primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine or been given a medical clearance from getting one, in order to play games in Canada.

The memo obtained originally by ESPN states that should players be ineligible to play in games in Canada, teams must list them as, "Out - Health and Safety Protocols,".

Perhaps the most interesting part is that the players will then lose their pay for any games missed due to not being vaccinated.

Players such as Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle would fall into the category of players that would lose significant pay due to missing games.

It will be interesting to see if individual teams try to mandate vaccinations. Last season, ESPN reported that the 76ers and Boston Celtics both declined to comment on whether their teams were fully vaccinated.

Kyrie Irving spend significant time off the court last season due to COVID guidelines in New York. These guidelines prevented him from playing in home games during the majority of the season.

With the regular season schedule set to be revealed sometime this month, we’ll see which teams have to play in Canada this season.

Vaccinations in Canada have also been a topic of conversation in Major League Baseball. Unvaccinated players aren’t allowed to play against the Blue Jays.

In order to play for his new team, Whit Merrifield got vaccinated after he was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays.