NBA general manager on uptick in soft tissue injuries: ‘Guys don’t run enough’

It’s no secret that a lot of the NBA’s marquee talents are currently down for the count with injuries. From Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum to Indiana Pacers floor general Tyrese Haliburton to San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, there’s no shortage of elite players on the shelf.

One anonymous NBA general manager credits the uptick in soft tissue injuries around the league to a lack of conditioning. The person said players simply aren’t running enough nowadays.

“I personally don’t believe it’s because we are running too much, I believe it’s because these guys don’t run enough,” a general manager told The Athletic. “We haven’t had any soft tissue injuries and our loads aren’t exceeding past numbers like other teams might be experiencing.”

A different league executive noted that for the lion’s share of NBA players, their offseason workouts primarily consist of shooting and dribbling drills, and hinted that such a workout regimen doesn’t prepare them for the physical tolls of the season.

“Another executive pointed out that most NBA players’ offseason on-court workouts focus almost solely on shooting and/or ballhandling, rather than the increased stop and start defensive actions required in today’s game,” David Aldridge wrote. “Who practices slides and hard closeouts all summer?”

The likes of Wembanyama, Tatum and Haliburton mark only the tip of the iceberg as far as elite players who are dealing with the injury bug. Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving — two of the more talented guards who have ever played in the league — have yet to even make their season debuts because of injuries. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams hasn’t played in a single game in the 2025-26 campaign either after he was probably the second-best player on a title team last season.

What’s clear is that teams around the league have to do a better job of preparing their players for the long grind that is the 82-game season. Whether the solution to that problem is having the players run more in training camp and preseason or something else, clearly what teams are doing to prepare their players isn’t working to keep them on the court.

If the NBA can’t solve this injury bug problem and its premier talents continue to drop like flies in the years to come, that could have a detrimental impact on its viewership. Ultimately, the NBA is a star-driven league, and it’s the elite players who fill seats and make the league money. Hopefully, a lot more stars around the league will be healthy in a few months from now with how depleted plenty of teams are.