Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Mike Conley, Joel Embiid, and Chris Paul are just some of the names that have been hit with an injury over the past month.
While injuries are an unfortunate reality of the game, it seems like this season has been worse than others, and many are blaming the condensed schedule and shortened offseason.
In a three-part message on Twitter, LeBron James was the latest to speak out on the NBA schedule, and it generated quite a bit of buzz online.
The league has since responded, downplaying some of the claims made by their star player:
“Injury rates were virtually the same this season as they were during 2019-20 while starter-level and All-Star players missed games due to injury at similar rates as the last three seasons,” Bass said, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.
“While injuries are an unfortunate reality of our game, we recognize the enormous sacrifices NBA players and teams have made to play through this pandemic.”
NBA spokesman Mike Bass after criticism of the league schedule from LeBron James:
“Injury rates were virtually the same this season as they were during 2019-20 while starter-level and All-Star players missed games due to injury at similar rates as the last three seasons. (1/2)
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 16, 2021
It really sucks to watch a star player go down. Not only does it rob the organization of their chance to win the title, but it also cheapens the experience for fans, who have to watch the playoffs without the most entertaining stars.
But is the NBA really to blame for all these injuries? The answer might change depending on who you ask, but let’s just hope guys get healthy and back on the court soon.
