The NBA is on the precipice of an injury crisis.

With the tempo of the game more intense and fast-paced than ever before, combined with the already arduous grind of the 82-game schedule, it's hard to ignore the uptick in soft-tissue injuries across the league. Ahead of the Golden State Warriors' road game against the Orlando Magic, Steve Kerr told reporters he's “very concerned” when asked about the NBA's recent string of injuries.

“[Our medical staff] believes the wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage is all factoring into these injuries,” Kerr said, via ESPN's Anthony Slater .

In just the past week, the Bucks lost star Giannis Antetokounmpo to a groin strain that will sideline him for at least 1-2 weeks, while the surging Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama to a left calf strain and Stephon Castle to a hip flexor strain for the foreseeable future, who were already reeling from rookie Dylan Harper's own calf strain.

And the strains don't stop there. Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, and Ty Jerome are also currently missing time with their own calf strains. Meanwhile, OG Anunoby, Jalen Green, and Cam Thomas are also out with respective hamstring injuries.

Not to mention the fact that Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard are rehabbing Achilles injuries they each suffered in the playoffs just this past calendar year.

The unholy combo of the faster pace and condensed schedule

Injuries have always been a part of the NBA, like any professional sports league. But things are a little different this season, given how the “meta” of the game, so to speak, favors teams that emphasize pace and speed. The 100.5 league-wide average pace this season, which is the estimated number of possessions a game per 48 minutes, is the highest it's been since the 1988-89 season, according to Basketball Reference.

“Across the league, everyone understands that it's easier to score if you beat the opponent down the floor, get out in transition,” Kerr said. “But when everybody's doing that, the games are much higher-paced. Everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everybody can shoot 3s. We have all the data. Players are running faster and further [than] before. We're trying to do the best we can, but we basically have a game every other night. It's not an easy thing to do.”

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That style of play is especially difficult given the NBA's naturally condensed 82-game schedule. Golden State's early schedule gives a good snapshot of the rigors of the NBA. At the end of their current road trip, once they reach Miami, they will have played 17 games in 29 days across 13 different cities. On 95.7 The Game radio, Kerr described it as the “toughest early schedule” he's ever been a part of.

So when you combine the fact that there is, on average, more possessions per game, with the idea that each of those possessions is being played at a much more intense and rigorous level, along with the condensed 82-game schedule, the simple conclusion is that the wear and tear on these NBA players' bodies is enormous.

Kerr offers a solution

None of this is new from Kerr. The Warriors' head coach has long been a proponent of cutting the NBA schedule from 82 games down to 72. He's touted rest in between games and practice time as helpful to managing the wear and tear on players' bodies. Kerr echoed that sentiment in the same pre-game presser.

“We literally haven't had a single practice on this road trip. Not one. We've been gone a week or longer. Eight days, not one practice. It's just game, game, game. So not only is there no recovery time, there's no practice time. What was different was back in the day, you did have four [games] in five nights, which was not great, but then you'd have four days between games. You'd take a day off and have a couple good practices.”

Kerr's Warriors have already had their share of soft-tissue injuries. Moses Moody missed the first week of the season due to a nagging calf strain. Jonathan Kuminga has missed the past three games due to knee tendonitis after exiting midway through the Warriors' first matchup with San Antonio. Not to mention the fact that the age of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler factors into how strictly the team manages their bodies.

But while Kerr's concern and mounting injuries signal a need for monumental change, the long-time NBA lifer expressed doubt that the league would seriously consider reducing the schedule.

“The tricky part is all the constituents would have to agree to take less revenue,” Kerr said. “In 2025 in America, good luck in any industry. Imagine some big company saying, ‘You know what, we're not as concerned about our stock price. We're actually concerned with employing people and giving people a stable job and making our product better.' That's not happening. You know that.”