Injury Report at the Midpoint of the 2022-2023 NBA Season
- Post By: Jeff Stotts
- Date:
- Category: Injury Report, NBA
For the first time in three years, NBA players are experiencing a “normal” season. The season was not preceded by a truncated offseason or shortened to a 72-game schedule. The lingering effects of the COVID pandemic continue but at long last things have started to feel regular. This step toward normalcy allows data trends to stabilize a bit, particularly regarding injury trends. While games lost to injury or illness remain on the rise, the numbers at the midway point of the season show a nice rebound from last year’s record-breaking highs.
The total player games lost to injury or illness through 41 games played is 2917, over 700 fewer games than at the same point last season. The primary reason for the turnaround is the substantial decrease in games to COVID-19 and COVID-19-related health protocols. Nearly 1,000 fewer games lost to illness have been recorded in the 2022-23 season when compared to the 2021-22 campaign. Winter was particularly problematic last season as the omicron variant forced players in-and-out of protocols. The situation became so difficult that teams were granted roster relief and allowed to sign a replacement player for every roster player who tested positive for COVID-19. Even that proved difficult as multiple replacement players, like point guard Isaiah Thomas, signed deals with new teams only to be placed in protocols themselves. While the health and safety protocols remain intact, it has not been as limiting during the current season.
Inline with the increasing negativity around player availability, injury management and rest games are elevated when compared to seasons past. Muscle and bone-related injuries remain steady though games lost to ligamentous injuries, like ankle and knee sprains, were the biggest reason for games lost. A large portion of these games can be attributed to five of the nine players that did not appear in a single game in their team’s first 41 games played. Three of these included players recovering from ACL tears sustained before the onset of the season. Fortunately, several of these individuals, including Cleveland’s Ricky Rubio and Orlando’s Jonathan Isaac have returned to action with others slated to return in the near future.
For individual teams, a beam should be lit for the Sacramento medical team as the Kings were the “healthiest” team through 41 games played. The Kings lost just 22 games to injury or illness, continuing a long-standing trend in which Sacramento has ranked as a top-tier medical unit. The Knicks, Hawks, Nets, and Clippers round out the top-five though Los Angeles would drop if load management games were included.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Magic, Cavaliers, Heat, Grizzlies, and Hornets remain the five teams most impacted by injury. The injuries for Isaac, Rubio, and Dylan Windler are major contributors to their team’s elevated numbers with Memphis and Miami weighed down by the extended absences of Danny Green (knee) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle).
The financial impact of player games lost continues to rise as individual player contracts rise. The growing trend is evident in Milwaukee and Golden State as prolonged absences from players like Khris Middleton and Stephen Curry have been particularly expensive. Based on salary alone, the games Middleton missed while managing wrist and knee injuries were most costly than the total amount lost by 18 NBA teams.
The number of games lost to injury or illness tend to increase as the season progresses and it will be interesting to see where the current season ends compared to prior campaigns. For now, teams will continue to address injuries as they occur and utilize rest and management games as they deem necessary despite the current discourse surrounding player availability.