‘Something’s going on in the NBA’: Stephen A. Smith sounds the alarm on the rate of injuries

Photo Credit: The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTubeThe NBA season is less than a month in, and an unimaginable number of injuries have sidelined some of the league’s biggest stars.“Something’s going on in the NBA, and I want y’all to know what that is,” Stephen A. Smith said on The Stephen A. Smith Show Tuesday.“79 players in the National Basketball Association are out with injuries or dealing with illnesses as we speak, 79 players. According to Yahoo Sports, that figure, they reported that figure on…November 3rd, that represents approximately 15% of the league. People, we aren’t even into a month of the season; the season ain’t even 30 days old. And we got cats out here; 15% of the league that’s injured. What the hell is going on? It almost makes you say, ‘What the hell are y’all doing during the off-season?'”Some of the most notable injuries so far include Portland Trail Blazers’ newest star Ja Morant, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who are all sidelined with hamstring injuries. Haliburton had just returned from the torn Achilles he suffered in the 2025 NBA Finals.Smith did not let Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards off easy, as he is sidelined with a knee injury that bothered him last year and could have been addressed during the off-season.“I don’t know why he just tried to rest and work through it. I guess people don’t like to get cut open, but damn, you know you got another season forthcoming; it’s 82 games,” Smith added.Smith recounted the severe leg injury suffered by Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams, who fractured his left fibula and dislocated his left ankle. To make the night even more eerie, teammates Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace were also injured in the very same game, marking “The first NBA team [Oklahoma City] in 50 years to have three starters injured in the same game, and all three subsequently expected to miss at least the next 20 games.”Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero also joined the injured list with a right high ankle sprain and is expected to miss at least four to six weeks. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz were both hurt as well. Markkanen left Utah’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 26 with a sprained right wrist, while Jackson suffered a torn MCL in his right knee in the same game. Markkanen returned for Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, while Jackson is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks.Smith pointed to a clip from LeBron James that alluded to why these injuries are happening so quickly and so early on in the season.“We go back to the pace of the game right now, and I think it has a lot to do with it,” James said on his Mind The Game podcast with Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash. “There is no way that you can simulate the way we’re playing in today’s game to off-season training. You can do as much as you can, but to jump right into full throttle of how we’re playing the game today I think is very challenging.”James has been the face of longevity in professional sports for years. He has played more than 1,600 regular-season games over his 24 seasons, and Smith was inclined to take his word seriously.“There’s certain things you don’t debate somebody the caliber of LeBron James about…The man has been around forever,” Smith said.With the extreme number of injuries tallied, the league has a huge adjustment to make to protect players since the “pace of play” is only going to increase as the season intensifies.The post ‘Something’s going on in the NBA’: Stephen A. Smith sounds the alarm on the rate of injuries appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.