After a 110-96 loss to the Heat on Wednesday, the Warriors fell to 9-8 in 2025-26. That is currently eighth in the Western Conference. Speaking with the media, head coach Steve Kerr shared some concerns.
The long-time Warriors head coach explained that he is “very concerned” with injuries to star players on the rise in 2025-26. Kerr specifically mentioned the pace and spacing of the modern NBA. Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo Sports had the facts to back up what Steve Kerr believes to be true. According to Haberstroh, only 67.2% of star players have participated in games to begin the 2025-26 season.
Does the NBA have an issue with its star players missing extended time due to injury?
NEW @YahooSports: NBA Star players are missing twice as many games as they did in 2023-24. Wemby, Ja now out tonight on NBC.
It’s gotten so bad that nearly half of all NBA stars are injured now: pic.twitter.com/ZZ31NlAqgG
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) November 18, 2025
Roughly one month into the 2025-26 season, it feels like more and more players are missing time due to injury. As of Thursday, November 20, Giannis Antetokounmpo, O.G. Anunoby, Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Anthony Davis are sidelined. Antetokounmpo, Wembanyama, and Davis are three of the NBA’s top stars. NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin noted that soft tissue injuries appear to be on the rise this year.
Additionally, Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh had some evidence to back this up. He noted that NBA stars have missed over 200 games through the first month of the season. Haberstroh used the NBA’s definition of what a star is. By those terms, there are 45 of those players in the current NBA. In 2023-24, 87.2% of the league’s stars had played over the first month of the season. That number dipped slightly in 2024-25 at 82.6%. However, NBA stars are missing games at an alarming rate in 2025-25.
Steve Kerr said he’s “concerned” about the increase in soft tissue injuries across the NBA. His medical staff believes the increased pace paired with the schedule has led to it.
“They believe the wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage is factoring into these injuries.” pic.twitter.com/VABfBFJMcK
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 18, 2025
Tom Haberstroh reported that NBA stars are playing in 67.6% of games. That’s nearly a 20% difference sicne the 2023-24 season. Not a great look for a league that is trying to counter critics who say that stars are never on the court. Speaking to the media, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the rise in injuries this season has him “very concerned.”
He blamed a combination of spacing around the NBA and the pace of the modern game. Steve Kerr said teams now more than ever take advantage of playing in transition. With that, players are asked to speed up the pace of play, and injuries result. He added the NBA’s 82-game schedule is another factor that teams try and balance all year. Teams want to be at their best come the playoffs. That could result in star players missing time early on.
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