Examining Achilles Injuries In the NBA

• Post By: Jeff Stotts
• Date: March 7, 2015
• Category: NBA, Understanding...

When Wesley Matthews crumpled to the floor Thursday in Portland’s win over Dallas, he became the fourth NBA player to suffer a torn Achilles this season. Guard Xavier Henry was the first to do so when he was injured during practice while a member of the Lakers. A month later, Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao succumbed to the injury and Detroit’s Brandon Jennings a month after that. The sudden rash of Achilles ruptures is an alarming trend for an injury that is often career-altering. Unfortunately, determining what factors may be responsible for the rapid increase isn’t an easy task.

Since the 2005-06 season, 16 NBA players have suffered complete Achilles tears, meaning 25 percent of those incidents have occurred in the last four months. An initial comparison of each of the four cases this season shows little in common. Age, weight, position, level of experience, and even the model of shoes worn varies from player to player.

Player	Team	Season	Location of Incident
Dan Dickau	Celtics	2005-06	Game
Laron Profit	Lakers	2005-06	Game
Elton Brand	Clippers	2007-08	Offseason workout
Jerome James	Knicks	2008-09	Practice
Mehmet Okur	Jazz	2009-10	Postseason Game
Jonas Jerebko	Pistons	2010-11	Preseason Game
Gana Diop	Bobcats/Hornets	2010-11	Game
Darrell Arthur	Grizzlies	2011-12	Practice
Chauncey Billups	Clippers	2011-12	Game
Elliot Williams	Trail Blazers	2012-13	Offseaon workout
Kobe Bryant	Lakers	2012-13	Game
Jeff Taylor	Bobcats/Hornets	2013-14	Game
Xavier Henry	Lakers	2014-15	Practice
Anderson Varejao	Cavaliers	2014-15	Game
Brandon Jennings	Pistons	2014-15	Game
Wesley Matthews	Trail Blazers	2014-15	Game

Looking at when and where the injury occurred does show that Achilles injuries occurred more frequently during games. 11 of the 16 cases occurred during a game with the other five occurring in practice or offseason workouts. 64 percent of in-game ruptures occurred in the second half; a factor that corresponds to studies that show fatigue plays a major role in tendon failure. With that in mind, it’s interesting to note that only two players, former Celtic guard Dan Dickau and Matthews, suffered their Achilles rupture on the second night of a back-to-back.

Though it is apparent no one factor is to blame for the sudden spike in Achilles tears, there is a growing belief that AAU basketball may be at the heart of the problem. In 2013, multiple basketball skills trainers told Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling that the rigors of AAU is taxing young player’s bodies. Micah Lancaster of I’m Possible Training was quoted as saying, “The whole AAU movement has guys putting so much wear and tear on their bodies at earlier ages.” A current strength and conditioning coach in the NBA echoed these suspicions with InStreetClothes.com, saying that while numerous variables have remained consistent in the NBA, participation in AAU basketball is one of the only variables that is different.

Reexamining this year’s Achilles injuries shows that Matthews, Henry, and Jennings were all participants in AAU basketball growing up. Varejao, the lone exception, didn’t play traditional AAU basketball but did play professionally as a teenager with Franca Basquetebol Clube and FC Barcelona Bàsquet of the Liga ACB. The sample size is but small but could serve as the foundation for a more extensive study.

While numerous factors contribute to an injury like a ruptured Achilles, establishing common links between each incident remains the key to explaining why they happened and designing protocols to help prevent them from occurring. The connections may not be transparent at first but an in-depth analysis may begin to reveal commonalties.