The NBA is experiencing a surge in injuries to its top players, with the list of sidelined superstars growing rapidly and resembling an All-Star roster.
At the current pace, the league could see its star players collectively miss over 1,000 games by the end of the season – a concerning milestone for both teams and fans.
Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes, who specializes in tracking NBA injuries, reports a 35% increase in games missed due to injury compared to this time in the 2023-24 season.
Even more concerning, the total number of games lost is already up by over 16% relative to the season before that.
The NBA implemented the Player Participation Policy and a 65-game requirement for postseason award eligibility in hopes of keeping star players on the floor more consistently.
Yet, despite these policies, star player absences are climbing. The Participation Policy designates a “star player” as anyone who has been selected to an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons.
This year, there are 49 such players, and they’ve already missed a combined 83 games – a notable increase from the 67 games missed by the same point last season.
The rise in absences raises questions about the effectiveness of the new policies and the challenges of maintaining player health and availability in an increasingly grueling NBA season.
NBA Injuries Up 35% Over Last Season https://t.co/uskRahiH3M
— RealGM (@RealGM) November 12, 2024
