This season has been a roller coaster for the NBA, which obviously came with the COVID-19 pandemic and all the procedures that came with it. Aside from the obvious, there has been another factor that has played a role in the wild season this year: injuries.
Injuries are one of the worst parts of all sports, including basketball. You never want to see a player sustain an injury that keeps them out for a long period of time. Injuries in a sport like basketball are almost inevitable: but it does seem like there have been more players than usual that have been injured this season. Hoop Central recently posted a Tweet that mentioned some players that are currently injured and may be out for an extended period of time.
NBA Players currently OUT an extended period:
🔘LeBron James
🔘Kevin Durant
🔘Stephen Curry
🔘Anthony Davis
🔘Joel Embiid
🔘Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
🔘LaMelo Ball
🔘D'Angelo Russell
+ more
😕
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 25, 2021
The players mentioned are all star-caliber players. It is insane how many high-profile stars are out injured currently, with prominent names like Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid. What is even more astounding is that this isn’t even the complete list of players who are injured. Slam Studios posted a similar list. The Slam Studios list features some players who were injured prior to the start of the season, other players who have been injured, as well as players who sustained an injury this season and recovered.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMtCWBlDLji
That is a lengthy list of injuries for the season. There were definitely some award races that were impacted by the injuries: LaMelo Ball’s injury affects the ROTY race, while Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James were all MVP candidates before their respective injuries.
It is unfortunate to see the players get injured: but all we can do now is hope for a speedy recovery for everyone who is injured. Some of these players are projected to come back this season. Aside from entertainment for the fans, it will be good to see players come back from injury and become their dominant selves once again.
