Rudy Gobert expressed his relief after scoring go-ahead free throws in the Utah Jazz's 106-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

"Just grateful to be able to do what I love to do. After everything that I've personally and everything the world is going through right now, to be able to keep inspiring millions of kids around the world and keep spreading positivity is just a blessing," said Gobert, who finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell, who made the pass that lead to Gobert's free throws, said that the two players put their previous friction behind them.

"It's just me trusting him and him trusting me. That's really what it is. ... He had the first two points, and for that [play] to end it, it should kind of seal everything as far as talking about all that extra stuff," said Mitchell.

Quin Snyder added that Mitchell and Gobert used the time away from the game to improve their communication. 

"We've moved on, and we've talked about using this entire experience to get better, and I think those two guys have done that."

All players, coaches and the three referees taking part in the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans knelt along the sidelines behind the words "Black Lives Matter" on the court for the national anthem. The players also wore "Black Lives Matter" shirts.

The game between the Jazz and the Pelicans is the first of the NBA's return.

"I respect our teams' unified act of peaceful protest for social justice and under these unique circumstances will not enforce our long-standing rule requiring standing during the playing of our national anthem," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement to ESPN.

Rayjon Tucker had his right elbow bent and a fist raised during the anthem.

Michele Roberts appeared to wipe away tears.

A tipping point in how the United States viewed COVID-19 came on the evening of March 11th when Rudy Gobert tested positive and the NBA responded by immediately suspending the season. Tom Hanks also tested positive for COVID-19 while in Australia on the same evening.

Shortly before his positive test, Gobert was caught on camera touching a table full of reporters’ microphones. 

“The media portrayed it like I caused the NBA to shut down,” said Gobert in an interview with Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. “Instead of saying that it’s a pandemic and Rudy Gobert tested positive. For a lot of people who don’t think further than what’s put in their faces, they really thought I brought the coronavirus to the United States.”

Gobert on Friday acknowledged that the video made him look like “someone who doesn’t care about other people’s safety or lives.”

Gobert tried to piece together how he contracted the virus, concluding that it likely happened in either New York, Boston or Detroit.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz are discussing a plan to surround the Black Lives Matter signage on the court and kneel together during the national anthem.

The game on Thursday is the first of the NBA restart.

The Pelicans and Jazz are adamant that they want to display a united front.

The league is not expected to enforce a 1981 anthem policy that says "players, coaches and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line."

Other teams are also expected to protest during the playing of the anthem.

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert went weeks without any communication after both tested positive for COVID-19 in March.

Gobert called Mitchell on March 12th, then texted and later directed-messaged him on Instagram, but never received a response.

Gobert and Mitchell had friction before their positive tests. 

One high-ranking Jazz source categorized the pre-pandemic issues between Gobert and Mitchell as "a 2 out of 10 on the NBA drama scale."

"You know, I tried to put myself in his shoes," Gobert told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "There was a lot of fear, and I think more than anything, he reacted out of fear. That's why I don't really blame him. We all have different character; we all react differently. When it's something like that, when he tested [positive] for a virus that we don't know a lot about, it's scary. It was scary for me, and I'm sure it was scary for him.

"The most important thing is what you do from there."

One month into the NBA's hiatus, Gobert and Mitchell talked.

"We told each other what we had to say to each other," Gobert said. "We are both on the same page. We both want to win. We both think that we have a great opportunity, and we know that we need each other. We talked about a lot of things, but the main thing was that we are on the same page and the fact that our team needs us. We can win together. That's the most important thing."

"Right now, we're good," Mitchell said in a virtual news conference with reporters. (He declined requests to comment for this story through his agent.) "We're going out there ready to hoop."

According to several Jazz sources, the fact that Mitchell as the ball in his hands the most has been the primary irritant in what is an overall successful partnership between he and Gobert.

"If you take a paper towel and just drip water on it, the paper towel is going to get moist and then it's going to get damp and eventually it's going to break," a Jazz source said. "Rudy has to pick his spots, and Donovan can't react to everything. Sometimes you have to play chess and appease your teammates.

"It's not about being right all the time. Sometimes it's like, 'It happened and let's move on.' Is it about you trying to prove your point to one another or us trying to win?"

Gobert will often air his complaints about not receiving the ball during games and again in film sessions.

"I understand that I'm annoying. I can be very annoying," said Gobert, adding that he knows Mitchell's job is difficult as the focal point of defenses. "I think maybe because he was really good really early, I've been very demanding and maybe in not always a positive way. Sometimes you don't realize it.

"Like with me, people can be hard on me and I can handle it, but for some guys, it can become very frustrating. I can understand that 100 percent. Donovan has gotten better every year since he's gotten here. I think he's going to keep getting a lot better. It's pretty much, I'm the a--hole."

Rudy Gobert reflected on the backlash he received after becoming the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19. Gobert's test was the catalyst for the league suspending its season in March.

"Obviously, when you have the whole world judging you or threatening you or sending you a lot of negative energy and stuff like that, it's something that I would say is not easy as a human being. But, at the same time, people are just judging you on the perception they have and the perception you get from sometimes it can be one picture, one video or one interview, one action. So, people don't really know you," said Gobert.

Gobert's behavior damaged his relationship with Donovan Mitchell, though Mitchell said that the two are back on good terms.

Gobert added that he's ready to get back on the court.

"A lot of stuff is going on and it's been a process, but I'm happy now that I'm in a good place and I'm happy that I get the joy back from playing basketball with my team and the competitiveness is back."

Donovan Mitchell said he and Rudy Gobert repaired their relationship after both players tested positive for COVID-19.

Mitchell and Gobert did not speak for a month following their positive test.

"Right now we're good. We're going out there ready to hoop. And I think the biggest thing that kind of sucked was that it took away from the guys on the team, took away from what the guys on the team were trying to do and I really wish that as going forward," said Mitchell.

Mitchell added that he's used the time away from the game to re-evaluate and focus on himself. 

"I've been going nonstop, really, so now I think this time off has allowed me really just to sit back and just watch. I'm asking questions from guys around the league how they've handled different things and I think it's been a time for me to really just find myself in a way that I've never really found because I've been on the move for so long."