The NBA is entering an unprecedented rate of injuries.
The entire league is up to a 35 percent rate of injuries.
The NBA’s definition of Player Participation Policy is any player that has been named to either an All-Star game or selected to an All-NBA team within the last three years.
Last year, at this point in the season, 67 games were missed from players who met the Player Participation Policy criteria. This year, at the same point in the season, 83 games have been missed from players who met the Player Participation Policy criteria, a 23 percent increase from last year.
The stars are being hit the hardest
In other words, for one in every four NBA games, players deemed a “star” by the NBA’s Player Participation Policy are missing a game.
49 players meeting this criterion have already missed at least one game this season, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson. Some players from this criteria made the list right from game one, including Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
The list just continues to snowball. Here are more players expected to miss multiple weeks:
- Durant (left calf strain)
- Ja Morant (right hip)
- Paolo Banchero (right torn oblique)
- Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring)
Key players who may not have met the criteria are also missing games.
- Kristaps Porzingis (left foot)
- Aaron Gordon (right calf strain)
- Malik Monk (right ankle sprain)
- Chet Holmgren (right hip fracture)
- Khris Middleton (right ankle)
- Lonzo Ball (right wrist)
From the list, there are
- The number one and two overall picks in 2022 (Holmgren and Banchero)
- The number one and two overall picks in 2019 (Williamson and Morant)
Playoff Woes in the East
As much as the NBA talent has exploded, there has not been a year recently when the stars have been healthy for the Playoffs.
Take a look at the last five Finals representatives from the East – the Boston Celtics twice, the Miami Heat twice, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
In 2020, all three teams were relatively healthy with their stars available, outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the final two games of the semifinals against the Heat.
In 2021, Jaylen Brown missed the postseason while Jimmy Butler was banged up in the playoffs. Antetokounmpo even had a moment in the East Finals where it looked like he blew out his knee.
In 2022, Khris Middleton was injured in round one and sat out of round two against the Celtics.
In 2023, Antetokounmpo was injured in game one of round one and missed another two games against the Heat. Jayson Tatum suffered an injury in game seven of the East Finals against the Heat.
In 2024, Damian Lillard and Antetokounmpo missed a majority of round-one loss to the Indiana Pacers. Jimmy Butler went down with an injury in the play-in against the Philadelphia Sixers, causing him to miss the postseason.
There truly has not been a year in the last five years where the powerhouses of the East —Boston, Milwaukee, and Miami— have gone toe-to-toe fully healthy.
The West isn’t much better
As much of a bloodbath as the West has been, injuries have decimated the postseason chances of teams like the Clippers, Pelicans, and Grizzlies.
After the Los Angeles Clippers made its first conference finals in franchise history in 2022, Leonard missed the entire regular season and George missed the play-in game.
In 2022, the New Orleans Pelicans snuck into the playoffs after defeating the Clippers in the play-in game. The following season, the Pelicans were the first seed up until December. Zion Williamson suffered a hamstring injury in January and would go on to miss the rest of the season. New Orleans would tumble completely out of postseason play.
In 2022, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings were the second and third seeds, respectively, in the Western Conference. The following year, Morant played just nine games after serving a 25-game suspension and missing 48 games due to a season-ending injury. The Grizzlies missed out on the postseason.
After breaking their long postseason drought in 2022, the Kings were jocking for playoff position last season. They then lost key players in Monk and Kevin Huerter for the final nine and 14 games of the regular season respectively, as well as the two play-in games.
The fans are frustrated
Entering every season, both conferences feel like a war zone until injuries pile up. Of course, injuries are a part of the game. But the sheer volume of injuries, especially to key players, is a knife in the side for organizations and fans alike.
The league is more talented than ever, but many prime-time matchups are now void of the star power that earned the nationally televised status to begin with. More and more, it feels like teams have a dozen throwaway games in which multiple starters are rested alongside an injured star. In a world where fans are shelling out hundreds of dollars for a regular season ticket, fans have grown frustrated about not getting the best basketball product.
This is no one’s fault. Players go through rigorous offseason routines, and trainers/medical staff do their absolute best to keep players as healthy as possible. But as big-time players continue to miss significant time, especially in the postseason, the NBA is going to have to offer some meaningful solutions.
Some have floated out the idea of shortening the regular season. Others have called for an end to load management, as a recent study by the NBA found no link between resting players and declined injury risk. Hopefully, advances in training and medicine will give us more answers in the coming years. For the time being, fans just have to accept the reality of numerous injuries as part of a game that is ever-increasing in pace of play.
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