'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The NBA has had its fair share of injuries since its inception, which has grown to be a part of the game. There have been some notable injuries that have marred the game and seen players never return to the game they love like Yao Ming and Brandon Roy, while others go on to recover and have a fulfilling career.
Sadly, such risk comes with the game and there's not much that can be done to prevent it from happening, aside from maintaining good fitness routines and dieting like most players employ. And even that doesn't guarantee a player will be injury-free.
The current NBA season, resuming its natural order of a full 82-game regular season, after two convoluted seasons, due to Covid-19 complications, promises to be as exciting as always. But as usual, several teams are still suffering from the previous season's clustered schedule and will be going into the 2021-22 season shorthanded.
A lot of teams are without their best players and have had to re-group and re-plan. From making strategic draft picks to deciding whether to leave star players with injuries off their roster for the upcoming season.
Going into the 2021-22 NBA season, it is only fitting that we look at the top three teams with the most concerning injury complications heading into the new season.
Three NBA teams riddled with injuries going into the new season
#1 Los Angeles Clippers
For the 2021-22 NBA season, the L.A. Clippers will be hoping to go further than they did in the previous season's NBA playoffs. However, they will have to go on for most of the new season without their shooting forward, Kawhi Leonard, who was injured in the playoffs.
Leonard is said to be ahead of schedule with his ACL recovery. It will be interesting to see how coach Tyronne Lue manages to cope without who many consider the team’s heart. Leonard has led the team in points, steals and field goals since joining the team for the 2019-2020 NBA season. Serge Ibaka and draft pick Jason Preston are also out for a lengthy spell with back and foot injuries respectively.
#2 Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic will have to start the new season without several key players in the squad. Having finished 14th in the NBA Eastern Conference last season, the Magic will need to find a way to do so without key players. Michael Carter-Williams, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac and Chuma Okeke will all be absent for the start of the season. Meaning they have a hard job to do if they are to perform any better than last season, which was disappointing, to say the least.
Star player and point guard Fultz is out with an ACL injury he picked up earlier in the year and is on his way to recovery. Isaac is also recovering from an ACL injury that kept the Magic power forward out of the entirety of the year. Meanwhile, Carter-Williams is out with an ankle problem, whilst the Magic will be hoping that Okeke shakes off his hip injury and recovers fully in time to make it to the start of their season.
#3 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors need not look deep into memory to remember their crazy love affair with injuries. Famously losing the 2019 NBA championship title as Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant were forced to watch from the bench. They again find themselves in a similar position two years later, this time at the start of the season. With Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Johnathan Kuminga and Thompson out, the Warriors continue to contend with injuries on multiple fronts.
Kuminga and Wiggins being available for the start of the 2021-22 NBA season are still questionable. With Wiseman and Thompson still on recovery journeys and the latter out injured for two seasons now, the Warriors will be going into the season short-handed. The Warriors will need some luck if they are to manage anything like the kind of start to their campaign that we have grown accustomed to in recent years.
