NBA injuries are an unfortunate and unavoidable part of every season.
As the playoffs near, injuries to stars and key players are impacting the playoff race in the Eastern and Western conferences.
Some players are out for the season, some are day-to-day, some are hoping to return before the season ends.
How do those players and teams deal with injuries? Will the Dallas Mavericks overcome their long list of injuries just to make the play-in game? Will the Los Angeles Lakers get back on track with LeBron James and Luka Doncic? Will the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the playoffs with their starting five available?
Let’s take a look at key injuries around the league as the regular season winds down (stats through Wednesday’s games):
Golden State Warriors
- Player injured: Stephen Curry
- Issue: Pelvic contusion
- Date out: March 20
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 7 in West
The good news for Golden State is that the team expects All-Star guard Stephen Curry back Friday. The bad news is that, offensively, they desperately need him. When Curry is playing, the Warriors have the sixth-best offensive rating (117.3). Without him, that number plunges to a league-worst 105.2 — and that was before the Warriors scored just 86 on the Heat.
If Curry were to require more time off, Golden State simply needs more assertive and decisive offensive engagement from Jimmy Butler. The same goes for bench players Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, but Butler is the star player who signed a two-year, $121 million extension with the team. In any case, it’s tough to see the Warriors making an extended run if Curry were to miss significant time.
Boston Celtics
- Player injured: Jayson Tatum
- Issue: Left ankle sprain
- Date out: March 24
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 2 in East
They have the No. 2 seed practically locked up, sitting 4½ games back of the Cavs and 8½ up on the Knicks. There’s absolutely no reason to rush Jayson Tatum back from his twisted left ankle suffered Monday night. Over the past three weeks, the Celtics had been giving starters spot rest, anyway, as Jaylen Brown (back spasms), Derrick White (knee), Kristaps Porziņģis (conditioning) and Al Horford (left big toe sprain) each missed games here and there.
Despite that, Boston has won 22 of its past 27. Tatum worked out before Wednesday night’s game against the Suns and may be available to return. It doesn’t matter. The Celtics have ample talent to make up for a prolonged Tatum absence. They could let him go to the Maldives for a week and they’d still be the two-seed upon his return.
New York Knicks
- Player injured: Jalen Brunson
- Issue: Right ankle
- Date out: March 6
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 3 in East
Similar to Golden State, the Knicks simply aren’t the same without Jalen Brunson (sprained right ankle), who leads the NBA in clutch points per game (6.0). Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 26.1 points in the nine games Brunson has missed, but it has been Mikal Bridges averaging nearly 4 points more than his season average in Brunson’s absence that is keeping the Knicks competitive.
The complication is that Brunson is New York’s primary ball handler. The further complication is that his backup, Miles McBride (groin), has also been out. That has put the onus to distribute on Towns, Josh Hart and Cameron Payne, who started the past three games at point guard. Making this almost comically absurd, Wednesday night, Payne rolled his ankle.
Denver Nuggets
- Player injured: Nikola Jokić
- Issue: Left ankle
- Date out: March 15
- Return date: March 26
- Current seed: No. 3 in West
Wednesday night showed just how essential Nikola Jokić is to the Nuggets. He missed five games with a left ankle injury, three of which resulted in Denver losses. And while the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Jokić erupted for a 39-point triple-double. The Nuggets lead the NBA in points in the paint per game with 58.1. Jokić is the anchor; even when he’s not backing defenders down, his elite vision creates easy buckets for cutting players.
The Nuggets also have been managing separate calf and ankle injuries to Aaron Gordon. But the priority is keeping Jokić, who draws physical contact with his style of play, healthy. When he’s on the floor, the Nuggets are championship contenders.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Player injured: Damian Lillard
- Issue: Blood clot
- Date out: March 19
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 6 in East
Damian Lillard is out indefinitely with a blood clot in his right calf, and while nothing is more important than his health in this matter, it hurts to miss games with an All-Star sidelined in late March. There is belief that Lillard could return this season.
The 40-32 Bucks are locked in a tight race for seeding with Indiana and Detroit. Milwaukee is in sixth place – two games behind the Pacers and a ½ game behind the Pistons. Milwaukee is 8-6 without Lillard this season (2-2 since the blood clot diagnosis) and have a better net rating per 100 possessions with Lillard on the bench than with him on the court. Two-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard form the highest-scoring duo in the league, but Antetokounmpo says the Bucks will need to rely on defense with Lillard out. Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. will receive more minutes, but no matter where the Bucks finish in the standings, they are in for a tough first-round series with no guarantee they get to the second round.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Player injured: LeBron James
- Issue: Groin strain
- Date out: March 8
- Return date: March 22
- Player injured: Rui Hachimura
- Issue: Left knee
- Date out: Feb. 28
- Return date: March 22
- Current seed: No. 5 in West
LeBron James and Rui Hachimura have returned to the lineup, and that’s good news for the Lakers. Just before they were sidelined with injuries, the Lakers were on a roll and looked good with Luka Doncic finding his way with his new team. The Lakers had moved into second place briefly behind Oklahoma City.
The Lakers went 3-3 without James, and when he returned March 22, the Lakers lost two more games before beating Indiana on Wednesday on a James’ put-back at the buzzer. They are 44-28 and tied for fifth place in the West with Memphis – 2½ games behind second-place Houston, one game behind third-place Denver and three games ahead of sixth-place Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers.
More important than home-court advantage in a playoff series for the Lakers is getting James, Doncic and the rest of the team back to the way they were playing during a 20-4 stretch before James’ injury.
Dallas Mavericks
- Player injured: Anthony Davis
- Issue: Adductor strain
- Date out: Feb. 8 (first game with team after trade from Lakers)
- Return date: March 24 (day-to-day)
- Player injured: Kyrie Irving
- Issue: Left knee (torn ACL, surgery)
- Date out: March 3
- Return date: Out for season
- Current seed: No. 10 in West
The Mavericks were 28-25 and in eighth place in the West on Feb. 8 when they beat the Houston Rockets in Anthony Davis’ first game with the Mavs after the stunning Luka Doncic trade. However, Davis left that game with an adductor strain and missed Dallas’ next 18 games. On March 3, All-Star Kyrie Irving sustained a season-ending knee injury and now the 35-38 Mavericks are tied with Phoenix for 10th place, ½ game behind Sacramento as those three teams battle for the final two play-in games positions.
Davis returned March 24, helping Dallas to a victory against Brooklyn, but he sat out the next game on March 25 on the second game of a back-to-back. Also out for the Mavs: Dante Exum (fractured left hand), Daniel Gafford (sprained right knee), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture) and P.J. Washington (sprained left ankle). It’s been a difficult year with injuries for the team that went to the NBA Finals in 2024.
Orlando Magic
- Player injured: Jalen Suggs
- Issue: Left knee (surgery)
- Date out: March 2
- Return date: Out for season
- Player injured: Mo Wagner
- Issue: Left knee (ACL tear, surgery)
- Date out: Dec. 21
- Return date: Out for season
- Current seed: No. 8 in East
The Magic’s 17-9 start was blunted by injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who missed a combined 54 games (34 from Banchero) earlier in the season. They are back in the lineup, however, Jalen Suggs (left knee) and Mo Wagner (left knee) are done for the season. Orlando, which had an impressive 47-35 campaign last season, is 35-38 and in eighth place in the East – ½ game behind seventh-place Atlanta and 2½ games ahead of ninth-place Chicago and 3½ games ahead of 10th-place Miami. The Magic have won three consecutive games and are 6-4 in their past 10 games with victories against Milwaukee, Cleveland and the Lakers.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Player injured: Ja Morant
- Issue: Hamstring
- Date out: March 13
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 8 in East
Star Ja Morant has missed the Grizzlies past five games with a hamstring injury, and the Grizzlies went 2-3. He is expected back soon – perhaps this Saturday when the Grizzlies play the Lakers in an important game. Memphis is in a tight race with the Lakers and the Nuggets for the Nos. 3-4-5 seeds in the West. The Grizzlies also are without key reserve Brandon Clarke, who is likely out for the rest of the season with a sprained right knee.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Player injured: Jalen Williams
- Issue: Right hip
- Date out: March 10
- Return date: TBA
- Current seed: No. 1 in West
The Thunder have the best record in the league at 60-12 and have clinched the top seed in the West. All-Star forward Jalen Williams has missed seven consecutive games with a right hip strain, and the Thunder are dealing with strains, bruises and soreness to Aaron Wiggins (left Achilles tendinitis), Cason Wallace (bruised left knee) and Ajay Mitchell (sprained right toe). The key for Oklahoma City – one of two teams in the top five in offensive and defensive rating – is having healthy players for the playoffs. Giving them ample time to recover is paramount.