Is the NBA Season Too Long?

Every year near the end of the season a big name NBA player gets hurt during an important game. It raises the question: Should the NBA season be shortened?

This year we saw several high profile players get hurt during the final stretch of the season. DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson were injured in the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard, on several occasions, was seen limping on the court. Certainly this is not good for the players giving it their all night in and night out.

Given how intense the sport can be, it’s not unusual to see players sitting out for rest. The term “load management” is often brought up in the media just because players need frequent breaks. Without a chance to rest, players increase their chances getting injured. As a coach, why would you risk your players’ health during an unimportant game? As much as teams want to win, they also need to prepare for their future, a playoff run if they’re good enough to make it in.

Curious in the type of injuries that often occur and wanting to know when they occur, I scoured the internet looking for answers. To get to the bottom of this, I gathered every injury in the NBA from 2010–2018 by using data from Pro Sports Transactions.

This is how it breaks down:

The sport requires explosive jumps and quick changes in direction. It should be no surprise that the majority of injuries occur within the legs. But when in the season are these injuries occurring? Would shortening the season even help with the bulk of the injuries over the course of the season?

The NBA season currently consists of 82 games — — 41 home and 41 away. After all the games, the top eight teams in the East and West go to the playoffs. Teams can find themselves playing anywhere from 4–28 games. Taking this timeline into account, I split each season in half to see when in the year do players get hurt the most.

Surprisingly, most players get hurt in the first half of the season. The narrative of the season needing to be shorter is often brought up when a player gets hurt near the end of the season. The wear and tear of games is said to take a toll on one’s body. Wear and tear is real but if most injuries happen in the season’s first half, why is nobody talking about this? Shortening the season may be helpful in preventing injuries but it looks like these potential changes would only be targeting the half of the season that is least affected by injuries.

Another interesting thing to note is the direction the league is heading in:

Injuries seem to be on the decline. Whether it’s medical staff getting better or players playing smarter, this is great for everyone.

The bottom line is that the NBA is a business. Organizations want to protect their players to increase their chances of winning it all. Players will continue to sit out during games.

From a fan’s perspective, I see how it could be irksome to show up to an arena, anxious to see your favorite player, only to find out they are going to rest. Is this a bad practice for the fans? Sure. But look at what happened to the Torronto Raptors who sat Kawhi out several games across the season. They were rewarded with a title because of their decision to let Kawhi rest.

If fans show up to watch their favorite player in action, there might be backlash to see them sitting on the bench. But there also might be a method to the madness as something appears to be working