LeBron James Is Right, the NBA's Schedule Caused This Rash of Injuries
LeBron James took to Twitter on Wednesday and ripped the NBA for its compressed schedule and offseason for the 2020-21 season. He argued that the league's decision-making has lead to the litany of injuries we've seen this season and especially in the postseason. And, frankly, he's right.
The rant came hours after reports surfaced that the Los Angeles Clippers believe Kawhi Leonard had torn his ACL. He's just the latest star-level player to get injured during these playoffs. That list includes Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Mike Conley, Anthony Davis, Donovan Mitchell, Joel Embiid and that's a partial list. James himself was hobbled by an ankle injury suffered during the regular season and Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 14.
Here's LeBron's thread on the subject:
They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
works all year round it’s ME! I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now. ???
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
I mean, he's right.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat had 51 days worth of an offseason after the NBA Finals. That's about half an offseason, and they had to play a compressed regular season. Of course players got injured. This was entirely predictable, yet the NBA ignored the concerns of players for starting the season so soon and compressing it. Owners wanted the revenue from a nearly-full season (72 games) and completely ignored the potential pitfalls.
The playoffs should be the time the NBA's brightest stars shine. Instead, many have found themselves on the injured list. It's terrible for the league.
James is right, this is a ridiculous situation and it's a problem the league made for itself.