ORLANDO, Fla. – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed his concern about the increase in soft tissue injuries in the NBA, attributing it to the combination of the accelerated pace of play and the condensed 82-game schedule. In recent days, several significant injuries have been reported in the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a groin strain. In addition, five other NBA players are currently out with calf problems: Anthony Davis, Ty Jerome, Dylan Harper, Ja Morant, and Jrue Holiday. The Warriors’ medical staff believes that wear and tear, speed, and mileage are influencing these injuries. According to data, the league is playing at its fastest average collective pace since the 1988-89 season. Players have covered an average of 34.3 miles per game this season, at an average speed of 4.43 mph, the longest average distance and fastest average speed since player tracking began in 2013-14.
Kerr has been a strong advocate of shortening the NBA schedule from 82 games to 72 or less, believing that a little more rest and practice time over several months would yield results.In the whole league, everyone understands that it’s easier to score if you outrun the opponent on the court, get out in transition. But when everyone does that, the games have a much higher pace. Everyone has to cover up to 25 feet because everyone can shoot from 3. We have all the data. Players run faster and farther than before. We are trying to do the best we can, but basically we have a game every other night. It’s not an easy thing to do.
Steve Kerr
The Warriors are already in their fifth back-to-back in the first month, playing in Orlando and Miami to close out a six-game road trip. After the Miami game, they will have played 17 games in 29 days in 12 cities, a league record. However, Kerr expressed skepticism about the possibility of the league seriously considering reducing the schedule due to the financial implications.Literally, we haven’t had a single practice on this trip. Not one. We’ve been out for a week or more. Eight days, not one practice. It’s just game, game, game. So not only is there no recovery time, there’s also no practice time. What was different was that in the past you had four [games] in five nights, which wasn’t great, but then you had four days between games. You took a day off and had a couple of good practices.
Steve Kerr
The difficult part is that everyone involved would have to agree to receive less income. In 2025 in the United States, good luck in any industry. Imagine a large company saying: ‘You know what, we are not so worried about our stock price. Actually, we are concerned about employing people and giving them a stable job and improving our product.’ That’s not going to happen. You already know that.
Steve Kerr
