The NBA already faces an injury crisis: what’s causing it?
Too many injuries in the NBA, and the same question keeps coming up: are there too many games, or are players unprepared for these demands?
The NBA season began just over a week ago, but the injury list is already lengthy. The latest major name to join it is Anthony Edwards, who needs arthroscopic surgery on his right knee that could sideline him for up to two months.
Another significant absence brings a familiar question back into focus: why are NBA players getting injured so often?
Predictably, the answers vary considerably depending on whom you ask. Some point to conditioning, others blame the schedule, while others believe the problem is tied to basketball’s evolution itself.
NBA injuries: Eddie Johnson points to conditioning
Among the most critical voices is Eddie Johnson, the former NBA player and current Phoenix Suns broadcaster, who believes players need more demanding preparation before the regular season begins.
It’s an epidemic. We need longer, more intense training camps to prepare bodies for the demands of an 82-game season. We played in canvas Chuck Taylors, and we weren’t sidelined like players are today
Eddie Johnson
That direct comparison with the past, however, doesn’t necessarily account for how much the game has changed in recent decades. Today’s NBA is very different from the one Johnson played in—not just in the number of three-point attempts, but especially in the speed and ground players must cover at both ends of the floor.
Steve Kerr: “Players are running more than ever”
Steve Kerr has also made that point, explaining how the league’s offensive evolution has radically changed the physical demands on players.
Everyone has to defend out to 25 feet because everyone can shoot threes. We have the data: players are running faster and covering more ground than ever
Steve Kerr
That reasoning is also supported by data analyzed by Caitlin Cooper, who noted that the start of this season has produced record levels in the player-tracking era for possessions, speed of play and defensive pressure away from the basket.
In other words, the game is faster, players change direction more often and they have to cover increasingly large areas of the court.
Analyst Sam Vecenie highlighted another factor: players have become increasingly powerful physically, but they must use that strength at extremely high speeds, placing considerable stress on joints and ligaments.
That combination could help explain many players’ physical struggles, although establishing a direct link between the game’s evolution and injury numbers requires deeper analysis.
Fewer games or shorter quarters: how could the NBA change?
Just as opinions differ on the causes, there is no consensus on potential solutions.
Steve Kerr has long supported reducing the number of regular-season games, believing a lighter schedule could help players recover better. Sam Vecenie, meanwhile, would prefer shortening individual games from the current 48 minutes to 40 minutes total.
That possibility has also attracted the interest of commissioner Adam Silver, who has previously expressed openness to introducing four 10-minute quarters. For now, however, no concrete decisions have been made in that direction.
Meanwhile, the NBA keeps getting faster, and injuries remain one of the season’s most debated topics. The question is how much more players can be asked to do without rethinking some aspect of how the game is played.