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Injuries are a part and parcel of life, especially for a professional athlete, who gives it his all, on the court or the field. Numerous players have suffered horrific, career-ending injuries and slowly fade away from the limelight.
There are those players too, who have returned to stardom after career-threatening injuries. Paul George is perhaps the most prominent example of that.
The NBA is just like any other sport in terms of injuries, they are a part and parcel of the game. Some players though, tend to suffer from injuries more commonly than others. Here are the 5 most injury-prone players in the NBA right now.
#5 Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Chris Paul is called 'Point God' for a reason. He is one of the best point guards in the history of this game. Paul is a 9-time All-Star, an 8-time All-NBA nominee and a 9-time All-NBA Defensive team nominee. Yet, Paul has been one of the most injury-prone players in the NBA.
He is one of those players who has not suffered major injuries but has always had a bunch of niggling injuries, keeping him sore. Paul has played 70 games only seven times in his career spanning 14 seasons.
Paul has suffered a wide variety of injuries to his hand, knee, shoulders, ankles, and hamstring, all of which have kept him out of some of the most important games of his career, like the 2015 playoffs against the Rockets and the 2016 playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers. Then there's the infamous hamstring injury he suffered in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2018 against the Golden State Warriors, where the Rockets dropped a 3-2 lead to lose 4-3.
He missed a potential title-winning opportunity and it seems to be the only one he was going to get. Paul has not suffered any career-threatening injuries but has been injured at the worst of times.
#4 Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons)
Blake Griffin was one of the most explosive players in the NBA when he came into the league as a rookie in 2010-11. Griffin was superb in his first 4 seasons, missing just 4 games in 4 years and spearheaded the Los Angeles Clippers' quest for an NBA championship.
But ever since then, Griffin could muster just two 60-game seasons and one 70-game season, which was last season. He played just 35 games in 2015-16, due to a hand injury and then a left quad injury. After that, Griffin underwent knee surgery and then suffered a big toe injury, ruling him out of the playoffs.
Griffin re-signed with the Clippers in 2017 and promptly suffered an MCL sprain, which forced him to miss 2 months. Griffin was traded to the Detroit Pistons and missed a bunch of games due to an ankle injury.
In the 2018-19 season, Griffin had a surprisingly injury-free year, missing only 7 games as put up a career-high 24.5 points per game, along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He also shot 36% from the 3-point line, leading the Pistons to the playoffs.
He underwent a left knee surgery in the off-season, which was a success and he is expected to join the training camp. Griffin will look to build upon his last season but he is one of those players who are expected to miss at least 20 games a season given their injury history.
#3 Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets)
While Kyrie Irving has joined his 3rd team this offseason, the Brooklyn Nets, the one thing he cannot seem to leave behind is his injury history. While his talent is unquestionable, injuries have played a major role in his career, forcing him to miss large parts of both the regular season as well as the playoffs.
Kyrie has not played a single full season in his 8 seasons in the NBA. He missed time due to injury at Duke and played only 11 games. He broke his hand in his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and has suffered numerous serious knee injuries that have kept him out for a long period of time.
Kyrie averaged a superb 23.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5 rebounds per game last season, easily making him one of the best point guards in the NBA, but played only 67 games. Even though the injuries he suffered has not changed his career trajectory, the volume of injuries he’s sustained makes him one of the most injury-prone players in the league.
#2 Derrick Rose (Detroit Pistons)
Derrick Rose was one of the biggest talents coming into the NBA in 2008-09 and backed up the hype by becoming the youngest MVP in league history in 2010-11 while playing for the Chicago Bulls. Rose suffered an ACL tear during the 2012 playoffs and that is where his career took a turn for the worse. He missed the whole 2012-13 regular season and returned in 2013-14.
Rose played just 10 games before a right knee meniscus tear ended his season, continuing his bad luck with injuries. Rose had another right knee surgery in 2014-15 and played only 51 games due to another meniscus tear.
Rose had a bit of a resurgence in 2015-16 with the Bulls and 2016-17 with the Knicks, playing 60+ games both seasons and was starting to get into a rhythm but then again injured the meniscus in the left knee, undergoing a fourth knee surgery in 6 years.
Rose played then for the Cavaliers and the Timberwolves, suffering a bunch of ankle injuries, which kept him out of the 2017-18 season almost entirely. He returned to the Wolves last season and had a stellar year, averaging 18 points and 4.3 assists in 51 games played. Rose has signed with the Pistons this offseason and will be hoping to return to his former self.
#1 Chandler Parsons (Atlanta Hawks)
Chandler Parsons is one of the most overpaid players in the NBA, making over $25 million in the final year of his contract and yet, has never played to his potential. After getting drafted by the Houston Rockets, Parsons impressed everyone in the league with his superb scoring ability and all-round talent.
He joined the Grizzlies and was supposed to be the 3rd option alongside Conley and Gasol. Instead, injuries got the best of him and he only played a combined 95 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in his 3 seasons there. He had numerous knee injuries which led to a huge drop in form.
Parsons only averaged 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 95 games, a huge drop from averaging 14.5 points per game in his 5 seasons before that. He had also missed a combined 54 games in 5 seasons before joining the Grizzlies and nothing has gone right ever since.
He has now gotten a chance to make a fresh start with the Atlanta Hawks this season and if his luck, as well as his form, gets better, he could return to somewhere near his best in the future.
