San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama was the biggest story at the start of the NBA season, averaging 26 points, 13 rebounds and nearly four blocks per game. The NBA even flexed a Spurs game into a primetime slot so more fans could see the 21-year-old Frenchman play.
Then he strained his calf, sidelining him for several weeks.
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Injuries have been rampant to start the 2025-26 season, picking up right where last year left off. Per certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts, who maintains a database of NBA injuries, players missed 10% more games last year than in any other season he’s tracked since 2005, aside from the pandemic years. Through four weeks this season, players are missing games at the exact same rate as last season’s record frequency.
Stars, in particular, have struggled to stay on the floor. The NBA defines a star as a player who has made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons. Nearly half (21 out of 45) of the league’s stars are currently injured. Others, such as LeBron James and De’Aaron Fox, are healthy now but started the campaign hurt.
Several stars—Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant and Anthony Davis—have suffered from calf injuries just like Wemby. Fourteen different players have already appeared on an official injury report for a calf-related issue, up from six in the first month of 2021-22 and seven in the first month of 2022-23. This is a broader trend—teams logged 64 players with calf injuries at some point during last season, a 68% jump from 38 players three seasons prior.
Other soft tissue injuries, such as hamstring strains, are also increasing in frequency. There were 22 hamstring injuries in the first month of this season, up from 15 in the first month of 2021-22.
It’s difficult to isolate a cause for all these injuries, but the speed of the modern game may play a factor. According to ESPN, players are running more miles per game and at a faster average speed than any season since the player-tracking era began in 2013-14. With the proliferation of 3-point shooting across all positions, defenders must cover more ground than ever before. The full-court press has also emerged as a semi-regular defensive strategy.
Teams are looking to push the tempo on offense as well. There have been more possessions per game this year than any NBA season since 1986-87.
“The wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage is factoring into these injuries,” Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in a press conference this week.
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