It was early in the season, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was playing MVP-caliber basketball. Victor Wembanyama, too.
Yet, Antetokounmpo tweaked his groin and Wembanyama strained his calf, and both their teams, the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antoino Spurs, played their respective games Thursday night without them.
Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama are just two of the NBA’s stars suffering time lost to injury, a problem that appears to be worsening. Names like Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis have also littered the list and point to a larger question: does the NBA have an injury problem, and what might be causing it?
Yahoo Sports compiled data through the first 15 games of the 2025-26 season and found that NBA stars had already lost 213 games due to injury, more than double the total from two seasons ago (100).
Much like the discussion around Achilles ruptures, the dominant causes for this rash of injuries appear to be multi-factorial and tough to pin down. In conversations with people around the league, however, speed and pace are mentioned most often, though the reality is likely more nuanced.
