The 2025-26 NBA season will begin with the absence of a few big names. A handful of players, some superstars from the best league in the world, will have to watch the start of the season while they recover from their respective injuries: LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Dejounte Murray, Kyrie Irving, Fred VanVleet, Darius Garland, Domantas Sabonis, Tyler Herro and Jalen Williams. You could make an All-Star team in the infirmary
Of the 55 All-Star appearances between them, 21 are contributed by LeBron James. The Lakers forward continues to make history: as soon as he steps on the court, he will become the first player in NBA history to play in 23 seasons. It will also be unprecedented for him to miss his team’s first game. In the previous 22 he was always there on opening night. He has been unable to play in preseason after suffering a nerve irritation in his buttock (sciatica) and is expected to return in mid-November.
Last season, the NBA launched a study to try to find out why so many players were tearing their Achilles tendon, the most devastating injury in basketball. Dejounte Murray, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard fell and, given the complexity and recovery time, have still not returned. Some will miss the entire campaign. Their serious injuries mark the exercise of their franchises. The Celtics and Pacers, who would be contenders in the Eastern Conference, will try to survive without their big stars.
Cruciate ligament injuries
If Achilles injuries are serious, those to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee are not far behind. They are suffered by Kyrie Irving and Fred VanVleet. The Mavericks point guard fell in March, when he broke the joint in his right leg. The first season that starts without Luka Doncic will also do so without him, although with a recovered Anthony Davis and the illusion of rookie Cooper Flagg. The Rockets playmaker was injured in preseason, shaking his team’s project, which with the arrival of Kevin Durant looked to the top of the West.
They will have to wait a little less to return Darius Garland (toe injury), Tyler Herro (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Jalen Williams (right wrist). They are joined by De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Green and Scott Henderson, important pieces on their teams who will also not be in the first jump of the season. Paul George, who is doubtful, may not be either.
Those who have recovered in time include Victor Wembanyama, who overcame deep vein thrombosis in a shoulder and has been playing preseason with the Spurs; Joel Embiid, who returned in the Sixers’ last friendly after eight months out with a knee injury; Anthony Davis, who suffered a detached retina in his right eye and will have to play with goggles for the rest of his career; and Zion Williamson, who looks fitter than ever after overcoming a bone bruise.
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