Naomi Osaka, for one, who used her U.S. Open-winning run to speak out on racial injustice. Time will tell what was won or lost by playing on.
Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse experienced both, but wasn’t sure which memories would prove lasting. Easier to settle was what he missed most: everything that goes on around the games themselves.“The ‘electricity’ in the streets on game day, the tremendous buzz in the city,” said Nurse, who won NBA coach of the year honors, but saw his team’s chances to repeat as champions squashed by the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Technically that was a “home” game, but it was played in the nearly-empty NBA “bubble.” “We certainly missed that (energy),” he added.