There is no doubt that the NBA has an injury problem. The league introduced a Player Involvement Policy last year to address it, but the problem seems to be getting worse and with no clear solution in mind, these are dark days for the NBA.
Chet Holmgren became the latest superstar to suffer an injury after breaking his pelvis on Sunday against the Warriors.
He joins Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Stephen Curry, Paolo Banchero, Scottie Barnes, Dejounte Murray, Paul George and Anthony Davis as players who have missed the season due to injury – remember that’s only three weeks into 2024- 25.
Kristaps Porziņģis, Khris Middleton and Kawhi Leonard have not played for their teams this season so far.
Yahoo Sports shared some of the most concerning statistics this season.
“…Star players are on track to miss more than 1,000 games this season, and games missed by star players is up 24 percent in the early going compared to last season at this time. As the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup kicks off on Tuesday, the excitement surrounding the second annual mid-season tournament is being dampened by a growing list of injured stars.
“…Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com has been publicly tracking injuries longer than anyone in the NBA space. According to his statistics, the numbers are increasing across the board, not just for the household names. His database shows that games lost due to injury across the NBA have already reached 686 games through the first three weeks of the season, a dramatic increase from 507 last season at the same mark. That’s a 35% cut from last season and a 16% increase from the 2023-24 level, according to Stotts’ data provided to Yahoo Sports.
Holmgren’s injury was an outlier as it was a rare fracture, but it’s the latest in a season-first trend of star players missing time.
What is alarming is that the league has not decided how to keep its outstanding players on the field.
READ MORE: Anthony Davis Provides Update On His Latest Eye Injury
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