NBA News: Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart is Clear of COVID-19

Nearly three weeks ago, the NBA was looking for ways to take caution due to the coronavirus outbreak across the country. First, the league ordered that all players avoid making contact with fans at all costs. Then, a rule was put into place so the media was no longer allowed to have access in the locker rooms to interact with players.

It seemed like that was as far as the NBA would go, but those measures were just the beginning. There were talks of potentially playing games in empty arenas, but it didn't even get to that point before there was a COVID-19 outbreak in the league among players.

Once Utah Jazz big man, Rudy Gobert, tested positive, there was a significant chance that multiple players had the virus as well. That turned out to be the case. The following morning after Gobert's diagnosis, his teammate Donovan Mitchell tested positive for COVID-19 too. After that, it almost became a domino effect.

Since that unforgettable Wednesday night a few weeks back where the NBA suddenly ended, a handful of teams announced that members of their organizations ended up testing positive. Out of respect for those who had it, no team announced medical records to anybody. However, some players who did test positive came out to speak about it.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was one of those players who wasn't shy about his diagnosis. After learning he was positive for the coronavirus, the Celtic sent out a message to all of his social media followers, updating his status and discussing the severity of what we're dealing with as a country.

A couple of weeks later, on Sunday, Smart issued another update. The Boston Celtics guard is now free of the coronavirus after being cleared by the Massachusetts Department of Health on Friday. "Corona Free as of two days ago," Smart tweeted on Sunday night. "Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers and I’m doing the same for everyone that’s been [affected] by this. Stay safe and stay together- apart! Much Love!"

Smart has become the fourth NBA player to have his status updated as cleared by his state's Department of Health. The first to be cleared was Detroit Pistons' forward, Christian Wood. Then late last week, the two stars of the Utah Jazz, Rudy Gobert, and Donovan Mitchell, were cleared at the same time as well.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_