The Brooklyn Nets are at the point of their offseason where they can relax for the rest of the summer before convening again in the fall for training camp. Brooklyn has made various moves this summer in an effort to improve the team following a 20-62 record in the 2025-26 NBA campaign, but there may be something else to consider as it pertains to athlete workloads.
“A new medical study says there is a link between an increase in minutes played in the games before an Achilles tear and a player suffering that injury,” Mike Vorkunov wrote for The Athletic when addressing a new scientific study into the prevalence of Achilles injuries in the NBA. Vorkunov points out in his post on X that more players suffered Achilles injuries during the 2024-25 campaign compared to previous years, but the NBA has a different tune when it comes to those findings.
“Over the past year, we have worked to better understand Achilles tendon injuries through a tendon health working group and additional research,” Vorkunov continued by quoting the statement that he received from Dr. John DiFiori, the NBA’s Director of Sports Medicine. While we welcome continued learnings, we believe the recent paper on this topic has important methodological limitations.”
As this study pertains to the Nets, the last time that Brooklyn had a player on the roster who suffered an Achilles injury as a member of the team was David Nwaba during the 2019-20 season. Nwaba isn’t the only player who suffered an Achilles injury that the Nets medical staff has dealt with as Kevin Durant began his tenure with the franchise during the 2019-20 campaign while recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
Some of the more notable examples of players tearing their Achilles in recent years are Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. While the NBA maintains that the recent scientific study that Vorkunov is referring to has limitations when it comes to its methodology, the Nets and other teams may be paying closer attention to what the research says when it comes to player workloads and the like.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Could Nets change medical approach after study into Achilles injuries?
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire | USA TODAY Network
