ORLANDO – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed his “great concern” about the increase in soft tissue injuries in the NBA, attributing it to the combination of the accelerated pace of play and the tight 82-game schedule. In the last two days, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a groin strain. The San Antonio Spurs announced that center Victor Wembanyama has a left calf strain and guard Stephon Castle has a hip flexor strain. Adding to these are five other NBA players who are currently sidelined with calf strains: Anthony Davis, Ty Jerome, Dylan Harper, Ja Morant, and Jrue Holiday. The Warriors’ medical staff believes that wear and tear, speed, and pace are influencing these injuries. According to data, the league is playing at its fastest average collective pace since the 1988-89 season.
Kerr has been a strong advocate of shortening the NBA schedule from 82 games to 72 or less, believing that a little rest and additional practice time over several months would yield positive results.In the whole league, everyone understands that it’s easier to score if you beat your opponent on the court and 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 three-pointers. 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 easy.
Steve Kerr
The Warriors are already in their fifth back-to-back in the first month, playing in Orlando on Tuesday night and in Miami on Wednesday night to close out a six-game road trip. After the Miami game, they will have played the most games in the league, 17 in 29 days in 12 cities. Kerr expressed skepticism about 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, but 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 all constituents would have to agree to earn less income. In 2025 in the United States, good luck in any industry. Imagine a large company saying: ‘You know what, we’re not so worried about our stock price. Actually, we’re concerned about employing people, giving them a stable job, and improving our product.’ That’s not happening. You already know that.
Steve Kerr
