Inside The NBA’s Injury Epidemic: Nobody’s Talking About the Real Cause
Modern NBA players train smarter, rest more, and get better care, yet they’re getting injured at record rates. This paradox has a surprising cause, and it starts long before players ever turn pro.
With Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton rupturing his Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the NBA Finals, a debate has reignited around whether today’s NBA players (especially star players) suffer injuries at a higher rate than past generations.
In total, seven NBA players ruptured their Achilles this season: three in the playoffs (Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton) and four in the regular season (James Wiseman, Isaiah Jackson, Dejounte Murray, Dru Smith). That is well above the NBA average of 1.3 per season, and nearly 2x the previous high of four in a season.
At first glance, this seems nonsensical. NBA teams employ some of the world’s most competent trainers and medical professionals. They track everything a player does, from the amount of force on their joints during a game to the minutes of REM sleep they get at night. The NBA even utilizes a service called Fastbreak.ai to assist with scheduling, leveraging artificial intelligence to optimize the schedule based on TV ratings, mileage traveled, and player health, avoiding frequent back-to-back games.
The NBA and its teams invest millions of dollars every year in the best technology and human capital. Player health should be improving, but it’s actually getting worse.
“NBA teams in the 1990s had just a trainer and a strength coach; they practiced more often and harder and played more back-to-backs. Now, teams have huge medical and performance staff and value rest over practice. Yet injuries and games missed are way up. Something’s not working,” former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy said on X.
This paradox has elicited numerous opinions. Some argue that 82 regular-season games are too many, while others discuss the NBA’s increased pace of play. However, it’s really a combination of several factors, and something that the NBA, trainers, youth coaches, and even parents need to address before injuries worsen. Let’s dive in.