Which Stars Are NBA's Top 10 Biggest Injury Risks Entering 2013-14?
Even though the NBA landscape isn’t nearly as dangerous as that of the NFL, the injury bug has bitten a plethora of the NBA’s biggest stars repeatedly in recent years.
As a result, a variety of NBA stars are big injury risks entering the 2013-14 campaign.
Teams that missed the playoffs last season—like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers—are hoping to make the postseason in 2013-14. For that to happen, however, their respective squads need to stay healthy.
Kyrie Irving played just 59 games for the Cavs last season, while Kevin Love suited up for only 18 contests in Minnesota. Can either of those two stars play at least 75 percent of their team’s games in 2013-14?
The answer to that question will likely influence the playoff picture in each conference.
The following NBA stars enter the 2013-14 season as huge injury risks. They’ll look to stymie that reputation this year even though recent history suggests they won’t stay healthy.
Honorable Mentions
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While the players in the honorable mention section may no longer be viewed as “stars” in a changing NBA landscape, they’re still intriguing talents who have had a seemingly impossible time avoiding injury.
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
Despite the fact that Manu Ginobili missed 54 regular-season games over the past two seasons, the San Antonio Spurs rewarded the Argentine with a two-year, $14 million contract during the offseason.
I respect San Antonio’s loyalty, but Ginobili’s evident decline fails to justify the new deal. The former Sixth Man of the Year averaged just 11.8 points per game a season ago—the lowest average since his rookie year—and fell off even more in the postseason.
In 21 playoff games, Ginobili shot 39.9 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from three-point range. He failed to score double-digit points in 10 of those games.
At 36 years old, the question isn’t if Ginobili gets injured, it’s when. Spurs fans need to hope for a resurgent season from their shooting guard.
Greg Oden, Miami Heat
Greg Oden is attempting to make an NBA comeback this season with the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. The big man hasn’t played a single NBA minute since the 2009-10 season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Calling his professional basketball career “injury-riddled” is putting it lightly. Oden’s body has betrayed him again and again, so it’s no surprise that he’ll enter the season as an injury risk.
Nevertheless, the former Ohio State standout could be an impact role player if he plays somewhere in the vicinity of 10 to 18 minutes per game for Miami.
10B. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Age: 24 (turns 25 in November)
Position: PG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: None (missed nine postseason games in 2013 after tearing meniscus in knee)
In five NBA seasons prior to the freak injury he sustained in the 2013 playoffs, Russell Westbrook hadn’t missed a single game. He earned a reputation as an NBA ironman.
But now we know that he isn’t made of robot parts.
Westbrook had knee surgery in May to repair the torn lateral meniscus he suffered in the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Recently, however, the explosive point guard had arthroscopic knee surgery after he experienced swelling in the knee, according to ESPN.com.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are clearly thinking long-term here with Westbrook’s recovery. However, an early setback by way of another surgery isn’t a good sign.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old has youth on his side, but knee injuries have derailed more than a few NBA careers (see: Stoudemire, Amar’e and McGrady, Tracy).
OKC’s point guard will start the season on the shelf. If Reggie Jackson doesn’t flourish in Westbrook’s absence, the injury could easily cost the Thunder home-court advantage in the playoffs.
10A. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
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Age: 35
Position: SG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 12
As another player coming off a season-ending injury that required surgery, Kobe Bryant enters 2013-14 as a serious injury risk.
Suffering an Achilles tear is a brutal injury for any athlete, but for a 35-year-old basketball player who is constantly running up and down the hardwood? To put it simply, that’s tough.
In fact, according to Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, Bryant himself has admitted to feeling “self-doubt” during his recovery. That may have been the first time in history that “Bryant” and “self-doubt” have been written in the same sentence.
Realistically, though, can the Black Mamba return to 100 percent following the injury? Younger players have had their careers derailed by less severe circumstances, but this is Bryant we’re talking about. If anyone can make a miraculous comeback at an advanced age, it’s him and his cold-blooded mentality.
With that said, I’m not convinced that it will happen.
There’s still no timetable set for Bryant’s return, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. So we’ll have to wait and see when he suits up.
Of course, Bryant will play through injury risk even when he returns. If he subconsciously compensates for the surgically repaired leg, he runs the risk of putting too much pressure on other parts of his body to shoulder the load.
It will be very interesting to see how his body responds to this type of adversity.
9. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
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Age: 31 (turns 32 in January)
Position: SG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 30
When analysts talk about players being “banged up,” Dwyane Wade is the prime example.
The former Marquette star has never played a full regular-season schedule in 10 years as a pro, and we shouldn’t expect that to change moving forward.
Despite his pesky injuries, the three-time NBA champion continued to play at a high level. He averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 assists and five rebounds per game a season ago.
However, Wade’s extensive injury history has continued to nag him in his 30s.
He’s hobbled his way to two championships in the past two seasons, giving the Miami Heat just enough to win on the highest stage. Luckily, he’s had the added benefit of playing beside the best player on the planet.
LeBron James has taken over the alpha dog role by scoring and distributing, which has limited Wade’s workload. However, D-Wade’s skill set is still an integral part of Miami’s identity.
He’s looked impressive in preseason, scoring 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting against the San Antonio Spurs. But the nine-time All-Star is still not where he wants to be from a physical standpoint according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
As long as he only suffers from minor injuries, the Heat will be championship favorites yet again.
8. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Age: 21 (turns 22 in March)
Position: PG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 38
It’s hard to believe that the youthful Kyrie Irving has missed more games over the past two seasons (38) than the banged-up veteran body of Dwyane Wade over the same span (30). Nevertheless, that’s where we stand.
Irving has suffered seven different injuries dating back to his days as a college kid at Duke, as Bleacher Report featured columnist Jesse Dorsey points out in this article. So is the exciting young point guard injury-prone or just plain unlucky?
The safest answer is to say it’s a little bit of both, but it’s a major concern regardless.
He broke his hand slapping a padded wall during the 2012 offseason. He broke his left index finger a few months later and then suffered a broken jaw when he was knocked down by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of the Milwaukee Bucks. In the grand scheme of things, those are some pretty freaky occurrences.
With that said, Irving’s body clearly isn’t the most resistant to injury considering that he’s been hurt in a variety of fluky ways.
Is this the year that Irving finally plays a full season? History says not to bet on it.
7. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Age: 23
Position: PG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 50
Of a possible 148 games to start his career, Ricky Rubio has played in just 98 of them. Of those 98, only 78 were starts.
The young Spaniard continues to garner a ton of hype for his flashy passing skills, but he’s still an inexperienced player who suffered a major setback early in his career.
After tearing his ACL as a rookie, Rubio struggled to return to form as a sophomore. He looked rattled and extremely tentative in the month of January, shooting a putrid 29 percent from the field and 10 percent from three-point range.
Rubio’s inability to shoot the ball means he should rely on driving to the basket. Unfortunately, that style of play will result in a higher injury risk from drawing repeated contact at the rim.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have looked like a playoff team on paper, but they’ve been decimated by injuries in recent years. Look for that narrative to continue if Rubio isn’t healthy enough to distribute the ball and play confidently within the offense.
6. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
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Age: 25
Position: PG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 109
Sticking with the theme of NBA point guards who suffered ACL tears, Derrick Rose enters the 2013-14 season with plenty of questions hanging over his head.
Although D-Rose described himself as “quicker,” “stronger” and “more explosive” in an interview with Slam Magazine’s Adam Figman, the dynamic Chicago Bulls point guard has already suffered a minor setback.
Per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune via Twitter, Rose already needed to sit out a preseason game due to knee soreness. This was a precautionary measure, but it's worrisome regardless.
Rose’s game is built on explosiveness. If his knee continues to flare up with pain throughout the season, he’ll be limited as he attempts to come back after the devastating injury.
If nothing else, at least critics can’t say Rose tried to come back too soon.
5. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Age: 25
Position: PF
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 75
Again, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been victimized by an absurd amount of injuries in recent years.
Much of the frustration can be tied to Kevin Love.
Although the 25-year-old has been called the best power forward in basketball when healthy, the “when healthy” part hasn’t been a common occurrence.
The T-Wolves star played just 18 games a season ago. He's missed 75 total games dating back to 2011-12. After five NBA seasons in Minnesota, he has yet to reach the playoffs even as an eighth seed.
The 2013-14 season will be a huge test for K-Love. To truly earn the moniker of “best power forward in basketball,” he has to be tied to some degree of team success.
He shouldn’t be held to the standard of leading a team to a championship, but he shouldn't be called the best at his position if he can’t lead a supporting cast into the playoff picture.
Love threw teammates and management under the bus during the 2012 offseason by saying, “My patience is not high,” according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
He’s sick of losing and not having good players around him. But with Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin, among others, the excuses have started to run out.
4. Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers
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Age: 39 (turns 40 in February)
Position: PG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 36
Even though two-time MVP Steve Nash missed 32 regular-season games in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was just 0.3 percentage points away from another historic 50-40-90 season.
His final numbers last season were 49.7 percent field-goal shooting, 43.8 percent three-point shooting and 92.2 percent shooting from the charity stripe.
So while Nash had a “down year” in the eyes of critics, it was to be expected that he A. missed considerable court time after leaving the Phoenix Suns tremendous training staff and B. showed a considerable decline in assists (6.7 versus 10.7) after entering an offense dominated by Kobe Bryant.
It’s unrealistic to expect Nash to return to MVP form for the Lakers next season even though he still does a lot of things well.
What’s truly telling, however, is that head coach Mike D’Antoni is already preparing for his point guard to miss time, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
3. Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans
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Age: 24 (turns 25 in December)
Position: SG
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 97
Eric Gordon missed just four games as a rookie while with the Los Angeles Clippers. He missed 20 games the following season (2009-10), 26 games the year after (2010-11), 57 games in his first year with New Orleans and 40 games last season.
Needless to say, Gordon is no stranger to watching games from the sidelines.
While the talented shooting guard has missed an eye-popping amount of games in his career, it may be fair to say that he’s had no interest playing in New Orleans after the Chris Paul trade that sent him there.
After agreeing to a maximum four-year, $58 million offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns last summer, Gordon said, “Phoenix is just where my heart is now,” according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.
His preference was clearly to join the Suns, but New Orleans matched the offer in order to keep Gordon in town.
Maybe he just wasn't mentally prepared for those circumstances.
When healthy, Gordon is one of the most explosive scorers in the league. He averaged 22.3 points per game during his final season in Los Angeles, and he showed promise by averaging 20.6 points per game in nine games during the 2011-12 season with New Orleans.
Considering that he’s still been nursing an ankle injury to start preseason action, per Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com, his odds of staying healthy throughout the regular season are already in doubt.
Don’t be surprised if Gordon finds himself on the trade block during the 2013-14 season, especially if Tyreke Evans plays well.
2. Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors
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Age: 28 (turns 29 in December)
Position: C
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 104
Although Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and David Lee will continue to be the offensive catalysts for the Golden State Warriors, their team success depends on the defensive prowess of Andrew Bogut.
The big Aussie will be even more integral this season if the Dubs decide to go with a small-ball lineup of Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala at the 3 and Harrison Barnes at the 4. Those four athletes can push the pace in transition and cause matchup problems, but only if Bogut helps by getting defensive stops and defensive rebounds.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick has missed a nightmarish 104 of a possible 148 regular-season games over the past two years. On that basis alone, Bogut is once again a big injury risk entering a new season.
However, there’s also a good chance that Bogut will build off a solid postseason performance en route a great year. In 12 postseason games for the Warriors, he averaged 7.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Bogut already managed to tweak his back/hip in an exhibition game, but Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News reported that it wasn't serious.
1. Andrew Bynum, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Age: 25 (turns 26 in October)
Position: C
Games Missed Past Two Seasons: 88
Andrew Bynum missed the entirety of the 2012-13 season with the Philadelphia 76ers due to a knee problem that has hampered him throughout his career. Due to that, any team that decided to sign him during the offseason was rolling the dice.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made that gamble by signing the big man to a two-year, $24 million deal.
Only $6 million of his new deal is guaranteed, but Bynum can earn an additional $6 million in Year 1 through performance incentives according to ESPN. The second year of his deal is a $12 million team option that the Cavs can simply decide not to pick up if they feel it’s too risky.
Bynum said in September that he has “no idea what the schedule’s going to be” for his return, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In an Oct. 17 article by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Bynum has reached his “game weight” and has been participating in three-on-three half-court scrimmages.
His return continues to be a mystery, so only time will tell if he’s ever ready to play.
