Marvin Bagley announces he was diagnosed with COVID-19

Marvin Bagley confirmed Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is currently going through NBA protocols. Bagley, who addressed media via Zoom, said he caught the virus right before training camp began.

“I caught COVID while I was out in Arizona a couple of days before we had to be out here [Sacramento] so I wasn’t here the first few days of camp for individual workouts,€ he said.

Though Bagley obviously hasn’t been able to participate in full training camp, he has been watching since it started and communicating with the coaches. He said he only missed the individual workouts the team did before training camp began. Though he doesn’t expect to be available for the first Kings preseason game he said he should be back on the court “very soon.”

Bagley experienced symptoms from the virus the first three or four days, he said, and described the symptoms as body aches and headaches similar to the flu, but worse. He now feels back to normal.

Aside from recovering from COVID-19, Bagley also seems to have recovered from his foot injury suffered prior to the Orlando Bubble, saying he feels the €œbest I’ve ever felt in a while.€ He’s been focusing on his diet and taking care of his body. In terms of his game he has been watching video and working on everything, but specifically his playmaking and his shot.

€œMy shot feels good, watching the film it looks good,€ he said.

Head coach Luke Walton mentioned Wednesday that Bagley’s shot does look better.

Glad to hear that Bagley appears to have recovered from both COVID-19 and his foot injury.

Here are a few other updates from Wednesday’s training camp.

Hassan Whiteside Update

We reported Monday that Hassan Whiteside has a mild, right calf strain and was day-to-day. Head coach Luke Walton said Whiteside had a pretty heavy workout Wednesday before practice, but they still held him out of the main practice.

Whiteside is the only player on the Kings injury list currently, according to Walton.

Fox Hype

De’Aaron Fox got a decent amount of hype from Nemanja Bjelica on Wednesday.

“I don’t know what he did this summer, but for me, he’s looking like an All Star. That’s very important for us because last year he was hurt at the beginning of the season for like five or six weeks, and that really hurt us. So as long as he’s good, he’s our leader and I’m so happy for him. Maybe that extension was a lot of help [laughs], but he deserves all of it and he looks very good on the court,€ he said.

Bjelica also said that Fox is showing that he is a €œgreat leader.€

Haliburton Hype        

All aboard as the hype train continues to roll through! Bjelica and Walton both hyped up Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton.

“He’s very coachable like the rest of our rookies. He’s very talented, gifted. He can do a lot of things. I like the way he knows how to play, he’s very like high-IQ guy. He can pass, he can also shoot. He’s sneaky athletic,€ Bjelica said.

Walton made similar comments.

“I’m very impressed with Tyrese’s understanding of the offensive playbook already,€ Walton said. €œHe’s got a lot of work to do still as we all do, but just his understanding in a short time since being drafted has been impressive.”

Any hype is positive, and sometimes can end up being just hype, but it is a certainly a good sign that basketball IQ is what is coming through in these comments about Haliburton.

We’ll continue to keep you updated as training camp continues.