Jalen Williams. Image via: Matthew Stockman/GettyImages
One week into the 2026-27 season, the NBA injury report is hard to read without wincing. A long list of starters from Orlando to Utah has joined them on the sideline, and one count puts about 15 percent of the league on the injured or ill list in a single day. The $139 million Thunder starter has a torn labrum in his left shoulder, needs surgery, and is likely done for most of the year, if not all of it. He had 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in the opener, a loss to the Hawks. Sacramento signed him to a one-year deal and sits at 0-4, so his next move comes in the summer. Add them and the number is 85. Oklahoma City is down two starters for most of the year, and Sacramento is 0-4 without Simmons.
Oklahoma City lost Williams and Wallace in one game. Utah lost Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen in another. Sean Sweeney won his first game as coach without him, against the Knicks. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported he will miss a period of weeks, though the MRI showed no structural damage. The Kings, Blazers and Grizzlies had not reported yet.
Leonard said he is focused on getting back to full strength. Keerthika Uthayakumar, formerly of TSN, posted that “79 players are listed with an injury or illness” on Wednesday’s afternoon report, about 15 percent of the league. Jalen Williams is out with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle. Anthony Edwards is headed for knee surgery. Rotations are breaking before they have been built. Nobody can say why, and the theories keep piling up. Jalen Williams had a very concerning injury. The Thunder star went down in the third game with a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle, a gruesome injury that drew Gordon Hayward comparisons. He had already missed most of last season. Cason Wallace left the same game. Anthony Edwards is next. The Minnesota star has a right knee problem that needs an arthroscopic procedure. Two months away would bring him back close to the new year. Now, it is quite hard to look at where the injuries landed and a pattern shows up. Teams are losing players in pairs. Orlando is missing Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs at once. A coach can plan for one hole. Two starters gone in the first week leaves no time to adjust. Not every case is grim. Several players are expected back in about two weeks. The season-ending list is shorter, but it already has Williams, Wallace and Ben Simmons on it. Banchero went down hard on his right ankle in the second game. The low-grade high ankle sprain is worth four to six weeks. Suggs got hurt in that win with no contact, which always looks bad. The result is a right knee bone bruise and a re-check in two weeks. Jase Richardson and Anthony Black get the extra minutes. Kawhi Leonard, Raptors Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto has stalled on left knee swelling. His next check is in about a week. Jaren Jackson Jr., Jazz Jackson has a torn MCL and a six-week re-evaluation. He played only three games for Utah after Memphis traded him at last season’s deadline, so his time with the Jazz has barely started. Markkanen has a right wrist sprain and is day-to-day. Jalen Duren, Pistons Jalen Duren hurt his right hamstring in the second game, a few months after a tense restricted free agency with Detroit. He is out about two weeks. The Pistons still beat the 76ers without him and Ausar Thompson. Ben Simmons, Kings Simmons tore his Achilles just before his return and is out for the season. Other names on the report The Clippers are without Brandon Ingram (partially torn Achilles) and Max Strus (plantar fascia tear). Charlotte has Kon Knueppel and Coby White out. Alex Caruso, Ivica Zubac, Tobias Harris, Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton, Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic are all dealing with injuries. Kristaps Porzingis is away from Golden State with an illness. Philadelphia’s Ariel Hukporti has a torn Achilles. And they are not all. Start with the raw count. Load management explains part of it. Stars sit to protect their bodies, and fans have learned to live with it. But a list this long goes past rest days. A fractured fibula, a torn MCL and two torn Achilles tendons are not maintenance. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines The cause is still a guess. The packed schedule, faster pace, players adding muscle, shoes, and years of high-mileage youth basketball, AAU included, have all been named. A mix of several is the likeliest answer. Some fans want a shorter regular season. Traditionalists want no part of it. Teams already feel it. The league also has Edwards, Williams, Haliburton, Banchero and Duren all out at once, which thins out its early-season star power. Leonard is re-evaluated in about a week. Suggs, Haliburton and Duren all point toward returns in roughly two weeks. Edwards is the long wait, with the new year as the target. It appears that the NBA needs a cautious approach to manage injuries, as there is the whole season ahead. Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
Oklahoma City will re-evaluate him before the regular season ends, but a return this year is a long shot.
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Tyrese Haliburton came back from the Achilles rupture he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals against Oklahoma City.
The left hamstring strain is listed as week-to-week, and Rick Carlisle said he doesn’t think “it’s realistic that he would play before then,” with two weeks as the marker. A lot. Apart from Edwards, who is set to sit out for at least two months and Thunder’s Williams with season ending injury, there are many players already in the concerning zone. On top of that, Kristaps Porziņģis’ potential Warriors return is slim to none and he is is out indefinitely after experiencing recurring symptoms of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a chronic condition that affects heart rate regulation and can cause dizziness and severe fatigue. He lasted four games. Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, Magic