Injuries are an unavoidable part of professional basketball and any other sport. It is impossible to think of an NBA athlete who did not get an injury and was unable to be fit for a particular game. It is rare for an NBA player to take part in all 82 NBA regular season games, even the mighty and seemingly impervious Lebron James has only managed it once.
Do injured NBA players go to games? Yes, injured NBA players are permitted and often expected to attend their teams’ matches. If the injury is severe and a player requires further assessment, treatment or recovery time they may be told to stay away and undergo the necessary work in order to get back on the court as soon as they can.
You will have seen quite frequently, NBA players that are injured sitting on the bench in their street clothes, cheering the team on. This is individual for every athlete and their circumstances and in the following article, we will go through this subject thoroughly.
Difference Between Home & Road Games
As we have mentioned, the factor of individuality plays a massive role when it comes to injured players. Some athletes are not able to go with their teams and attend matches, while the others might stand up in stretches and root for them. We need to make some differences between home and road games.
Normally when teams hold matches on their own courts, players can go and attend games without further assessment. As they do not need to travel which can cause them inconvenience. You will probably see such players sitting near the court, or places that are specifically allocated for guests of the team.
As for road games, things could be different. For example, if a player is forced to remain in hospital (his leg is broken and unable to walk properly because of discomfort), then he will not go to attend matches.
Of course, when we talk about these factors everything is individual and if there is a crucial game, a player can still go to support the team. On the other hand, certain players take time to rehabilitate and take care of themselves so that they can be available for further matches. For example, LeBron James can be seen in the majority of matches. He has played for 3 franchises and while getting injuries, The King was frequently present on the court.
Why Do Players Get Injured?
This problem is interesting and topical, and, alas, there are enough big names of the victims. Several statistical offices at once calculated that the 2010-2011 season was still considered the “bloodiest” season, when Yao Ming, Shaquille O’Neal were injured as well as Joaquim Noah and David West. Simply put, the turmoil is speculative.
Some players are just getting old. So, no matter how sensational the theory of the “black season” may sound, it collapses without being fully formed. But does that mean the problem doesn’t exist? Of course, there is another trend. First of all, compared to basketball in the late 90s and early 2000s, not only the number of injuries has increased, but their nature has also changed, and one of the worst injuries in sports – cruciate ligament rupture – has become commonplace.
Basketball players, as before, break their arms, like Anthony Davis, for example, scoring too zealously from above, dislocate their shoulders, like Chris Paul, after a strong collision with an opponent. But it is the number of torn “crosses” that has increased compared to previous years. Over the past seven years, the incidence of this injury has increased by 4.5 on average per season. The main and most obvious reason is, of course, the evolution of the game itself. It became harder, faster, more athletic, and her pace became less predictable and more erratic.
To draw parallels, in the past, clubs rarely changed the pace of the game, and if they did, it was not as often as they are today. The ubiquitous statisticians and their brainchild, the Synergy program, have calculated that the average NBA team significantly changes the pace of the game 6-7 times a game.
Now imagine what it’s like for the main players who spend 30 minutes on the court for a match taking place at different tempos. And there are 82 such matches, excluding the playoffs, among which are paired, one after another.
Not surprisingly, future NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s first move is to cut the number of games to 62. The need for such a decision has long been talked about by everyone, from players to team owners, and the league is waiting for Silver’s arrival, first of all, because of his promise.
Today’s NBA players have long jumps and this combination of acrobatics greatly increases the risk of injury. All the power is spent on repulsion, in the air, the muscles are relaxed, and attention is focused on the ring. The longer the basketball player is in this state, the greater the chance of injury. Landing falls on the good old joints, that part of the body that is practically impossible to train and strengthen.
The campaign to glory is thorny and long, so the guys start preparing for it ahead of time, even too early. The average age to enter the NBA is 20. To get there, all the previous 8-10 years, the young men do not know anything but training, competitions, loads and matches. They play for a school or college during the school year and work individually in training camps when the summer comes.
It is necessary to mention the most controversial and dubious reason – the quality of the equipment. Which sneakers are better – low or high? Does their weight matter? Which manufacturer to choose? All this is too individual to talk about it seriously.