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4 theories on why there's so many NBA Achilles tears lately
The 2024-25 NBA season will be remembered for so much -- the Oklahoma City Thunder's first title in the city (we're not counting the Sonics' ring), the Indiana Pacers' incredible run that fell short in a Game 7 of the NBA Finals and beyond.
But there's also the rash of Achilles woes that's led to eight players to suffer the devastating injuries this season: names like Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Dejounte Murray and Isaiah Jackson.
So ... what gives? Why are there seemingly more Achilles injuries these days than in previous years? Is it heavier workloads? Too many games? The style of play?
Let's share some theories that are going around:
It could be the style of the modern NBA that's one factor
There's this thought from Yahoo's Tom Haberstroh, after Tatum went down with the devastating injury against the New York Knicks:
Tatum's assignment on the 7-foot [Karl-Anthony] Towns is representative of a growing expansion of the game's geometry. The wing player was tasked with banging down low and wrestling with Towns for rebounds, while also staying with him when he ventured out to the perimeter where Towns is comfortable launching from 30 feet. Guards are centers and centers are guards. Towns leads a growing trend of stretch 5s who demand defenders to follow big men for a much larger surface area on the floor. Whether it's Nikola Jokić in Denver, Chet Holmgren in OKC or Myles Turner in Indiana, having a stretch 5 is the norm for title contenders now. Hell, Draymond Green is averaging more 3-point attempts in this series (5.8) than Reggie Miller did in his postseason career (5.7).
It's just a game of more movement now on both ends. That's an added load on the Achilles, possibly.
Is it because there are too many games?
This has been a discussion for some time now. There's 82 regular-season games, and if you're an NBA title contender, you're potentially going to play another 20-something contests on top of that. And what if it's an Olympics year? It just might be too much.
Has it gotta be the shoes?
This is a theory floated by ex-NBA point guard Nick Van Exel back in May:
But this might be backed by science, per Basketball Network:
That school of thinking is backed up by a 2010 clinical study, which concluded that the type of footwear can affect Achilles tendon loading during dorsiflexion. According to the research, high-top shoes reduce the tension on the Achilles tendon by 9.9 percent. With tied laces, high-top shoes also cut the peak dorsiflexion angle by 7.2% as compared to low-top sneakers.
But in recent years and after the late Kobe Bryant started the revolution, players have preferred wearing low-top sneakers over high-tops because with more ankle freedom, it allows more agility which helps players make quick change in direction and fast lateral movement. But low-tops and mid-tops don't protect the ankle as much the the high-tops.
Is it due to playing through other injures?
Haliburton's injury came after a calf strain. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles after a calf injury back in 2019.
