As the NBA prepares for its third straight pandemic-affected season, player vaccinations have quickly turned into a hot-button issue.

The conversation prompted basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to go public with his stance that every NBA player should be vaccinated.

“They don’t have to explain anything, but if they don’t want to get vaccinated, I don’t think they should be allowed to play,” Abdul-Jabbar told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton on Sunday.

While recent reports say that 95 per cent of players have received at least one shot — that’s more than the 85 per cent of eligible Canadians