Unvaccinated pro athletes will officially be barred from entering Canada in January.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement on Friday, saying that “national interest exemptions” for pro athletes who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 will be terminated on January 15.

Source: Adam Laskaris of DailyHive.com

ANALYSIS: Canada has been allowing athletes to come into the country and compete under the exemption, which states "unvaccinated athletes would have to provide a negative test to come into the country, but would be free to compete in buildings that otherwise require proof of vaccination to enter." With this exemption now being terminated, a small percentage of NBA players will be affected.

The NBPA has reported that more than 90% of players are vaccinated. It will be interesting to see if this convinces any players to receive the vaccine or how their teams will adjust to playing without them.