[Mick]

I know injuries always have been part of the game, but it seems like they are becoming more frequent and more severe.  Have any of you seen studies or data that give a hint at the reason for the increase?  I've read opinions that it's happening more now because players are playing in so many back-to-back games.  However, I'm not sure why that would be the case now, and not in the past.  The season has been 82 games for as long as I can remember.  Did the start/end dates change?  Did the NBA Cup lead to changes in the schedule?  (I think it did this year, but I don't recall the format the past two years.)

I mention the frequency of injuries because I noted that there are 10(!) players on the injury report (5 per team) for the Warriors' upcoming game against the 76ers.  Those 10 don't even include Curry or Melton, both of whom are expected to return from injury for that game.

You are correct. This is a two-week-old article in the Sporting News that gives the underlying reasons behind the surge of injuries in the 2025/2026 NBA season:

Why injuries are surging across the NBA: a full breakdown | Sporting News

Long story short: players are traveling farther during a game, at a higher average speed, with less rest, more practices and (crucially) more starts and stops, thanks to euro steps, pull-up threes, sudden deceleration, side steps and flops. Knees, calf muscles, ankles and Achilles tendons weren't built to take the stress, particularly over 82 games.

[Mick]

I know injuries always have been part of the game, but it seems like they are becoming more frequent and more severe.  Have any of you seen studies or data that give a hint at the reason for the increase?  I've read opinions that it's happening more now because players are playing in so many back-to-back games.  However, I'm not sure why that would be the case now, and not in the past.  The season has been 82 games for as long as I can remember.  Did the start/end dates change?  Did the NBA Cup lead to changes in the schedule?  (I think it did this year, but I don't recall the format the past two years.)

I mention the frequency of injuries because I noted that there are 10(!) players on the injury report (5 per team) for the Warriors' upcoming game against the 76ers.  Those 10 don't even include Curry or Melton, both of whom are expected to return from injury for that game.

You are correct. This is a two-week-old article in the Sporting News that gives the underlying reasons behind the surge of injuries in the 2025/2026 NBA season:

Why injuries are surging across the NBA: a full breakdown | Sporting News

Long story short: players are traveling farther during a game, at a higher average speed, with less rest, more practices and (crucially) more starts and stops, thanks to euro steps, pull-up threes, sudden deceleration, side steps and flops. Knees, calf muscles, ankles and Achilles tendons weren't built to take the stress, particularly over 82 games.