The debate over COVID-19 vaccine mandates has spilled into the NBA, exposing divisions within the league over how to keep players safe from the fast-spreading virus.

While around 90 percent of NBA players are fully vaccinated — significantly higher than the U.S. vaccination rate — some of the league's brightest stars are refusing to get the shot.

NBA stars have unleashed public criticisms of the vaccine, dealing a blow to the league's image and revealing that even world-famous athletes can fall prey to increasingly common COVID-19 misinformation.

The NBA sought to require all players to get vaccinated for the upcoming season, but that sparked strong pushback from the National Basketball Players Association, which called a vaccine mandate a "non-starter."