Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and several other NBA stars are expected to make big return. Image via: Luke Hales /Getty Images | Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Several of the league’s most recognizable names enter the 2026-27 season working their way back from serious injuries, and how fast they regain form could reshape the race in both conferences. Image via: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Team Los Angeles Lakers 2025-26 stats 33.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 8.3 APG, 47.6 FG% Injury Grade 2 left hamstring strain Status Cleared for full basketball activities Doncic was cleared for full activity in late May, roughly two and a half weeks after the Lakers were eliminated in the second round by Oklahoma City. Joel Embiid Team Philadelphia 76ers 2025-26 stats 26.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 48.9 FG% Injury Left knee, plus an oblique issue Status Optimistic entering camp Embiid’s durability has been the league’s longest-running question mark, yet he has still produced MVP-caliber stretches around the absences. He played just 57 of a possible 164 games across the last two seasons, but says the knee itself is no longer the primary concern. Kyrie Irving Team Dallas Mavericks 2024-25 stats 24.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 47.3 FG% Injury Torn right ACL Status Ramping up via summer pickup games Dallas shut Irving down at last season’s All-Star break once the team’s lottery odds became the priority, and he’ll be about 19 months removed from surgery when camp opens. League sources told ESPN that other teams are watching closely to see how, or if, the 34-year-old fits Dallas’s long-term plans, since a healthy Irving, who has averaged 25.5 points and 5.1 assists per game as a Maverick, could become a trade target if new team president Masai Ujiri is open to moving him before the deadline. Damian Lillard Team Portland Trail Blazers 2024-25 stats 24.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.1 APG, 44.8 FG% Injury Torn Achilles Status Returning to Portland after three years away Lillard’s return doubles as a homecoming, his first time back in Portland since he was traded three years ago. At 36 and coming off an Achilles tear, the questions are less about sentiment and more about fit: how much he has left physically, and how he slots into a Blazers team that made the playoffs last season on the strength of a defense-first identity built around Deni Avdija. Image via: NBAE via Getty Image Team Indiana Pacers 2024-25 stats 18.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 9.2 APG, 47.3 FG% Injury Achilles tear Status Chomping at the bit to return, per reports It has been 15 months since Haliburton last played, a stretch that ended when he exited Game 7 of the 2025 Finals with the injury. Trae Young Team Washington Wizards 2025-26 stats 17.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 8.0 APG, 45.8 FG% Injury MCL and quadriceps injuries, right leg Status Cleared for training camp Young played just five games after Atlanta traded him to Washington in January, and the Wizards were still in rebuilding mode when he arrived. He turns 28 later this month and is fully cleared, giving Washington a healthy starting point as it tries to climb out of three straight 60-loss seasons. Anthony Davis, cleared from a hand injury after playing only 20 games last season split between two teams, looks ready for camp and will pair with Young in Washington’s backcourt. In Houston, Steven Adams is targeting a healthy start after ankle surgery limited him to 32 games, a return that matters given the Rockets’ reliance on his offensive rebounding and interior defense behind Alperen Sengun. New Orleans point guard DeJounte Murray, who came back from a ruptured Achilles late last season and averaged 16.7 points and 6.4 assists in 14 games, is expected to be full go under new coach Jamahl Mosley.
Because their timelines remain uncertain or their teams are further from contention, image via: Noah Graham/National Basketball Association via Getty Images Several other notable names are working back from injury without cracking the top tier of urgency, either.
Fred VanVleet Team Houston Rockets 2024-25 stats 14.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 37.8 FG% Injury Torn right ACL and a torn meniscus Status Full-time, ramping up VanVleet told Andscape in July he was back on the court “full-time, ramping up, feeling good,” and expects to be ready when Houston opens the preseason in Macao. He says the wait has only sharpened his motivation to play alongside Anthony Davis and top pick AJ Dybantsa. “I’m very motivated to be back in the conversation where I should be,” Young told ESPN, pushing back on the idea that his value is tied only to scoring or assist totals. Walker Kessler joins the Lakers fully healed from shoulder surgery, telling reporters in Las Vegas, “sitting out a whole year definitely puts a lot of things in perspective,” as he takes on a larger role next to Doncic.
Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving , Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Fred VanVleet and Trae Young headline a group of returning stars whose health will weigh heavily on their teams’ postseason outlooks. These seven players carry outsized influence on their teams’ ceilings, and each is dealing with a different stage of recovery heading into training camp. Some, like Young and Doncic, are already cleared and simply need reps. Others, like Irving and Haliburton, are working against a much longer layoff and a coaching staff that may choose caution over urgency in October and November. Luka Doncic Luka Doncic. The hamstring strain cost him the entire postseason and, with it, a chance to build on the momentum L.A. had generated through March. He spent the offseason resting deliberately, skipping FIBA World Cup qualifiers with Slovenia to be with his daughters, and later hosted teammates for a player-run minicamp in August. Doncic is coming off a scoring title and will look to turn that into deeper playoff success, having been part of just one postseason win since arriving in Los Angeles a season and a half ago. An oblique injury and other setbacks limited him more than the knee did. He now has Jaylen Brown and LeBron James around him in Philadelphia, and a healthy Embiid could finally push the 76ers past the conference finals barrier that has eluded every MVP season of his career. He has spent the summer ramping up in pickup games, generating enough highlights to fuel hope that he can pair immediately with Cooper Flagg. Tyrese Haliburton Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton led Indiana to back-to-back conference finals appearances and came within one game of a title, so the question now is whether his return alone reinserts the Pacers into that tier, or whether Indiana manages his workload early in hopes of peaking again by the postseason. His return restores offensive stability for a Rockets team that struggled to close out games last season once opponents keyed in on Kevin Durant. One byproduct of his absence was extra development time for young guards Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, experience the team hopes carries into this season. Assuming no setbacks, VanVleet projects as the primary setup man for Durant and Alperen Sengun. Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler III, entering his 16th season and the final year of his contract with Golden State, is still rehabbing a right ACL tear; strength tests have shown progress, but a return before January or February looks unlikely given the Warriors’ cautious medical approach under Rick Celebrini. Jaren Jackson Jr. is set to anchor Utah’s frontcourt after knee surgery limited him to three games following a midseason trade, and Jalen Williams returns to Oklahoma City hoping to shake recurring hamstring strains that undercut last season. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Ja Morant begins a fresh chapter in Portland after an elbow injury ended his final Memphis season early, while Memphis center Zach Edey and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis are both targeting healthy starts following ankle and meniscus procedures, respectively. Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
Portland now has to integrate both Lillard and newly acquired guard Ja Morant into the backcourt, a project that will shape whether last year’s playoff breakthrough was a floor or a ceiling for this roster. The Eastern Conference has shifted meaningfully since then.
