Discussion | Increased games lead to frequent Achilles tendon injuries among NBA players. Maintaining a good attitude is the key to recovery

(This article was published on June 29, and the author is James Jackson, a reporter of The Athletic. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views.)

In the seventh game of the 2025 NBA Finals, Teres Halliburton fell to the ground in pain due to a torn right Achilles tendon. This scene made the entire basketball community worry. Dominic Wilkins sympathized with Halliburton, but he was not as surprised as everyone else.

Wilkins' calm was not because Halliburton was the third All-Star player to be injured in the 2025 playoffs, nor because seven players have suffered the same injuries in the 2024-2025 season. In fact, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member experienced the same fate more than 30 years ago. After hard rehabilitation training, he regained his superpowers on the basketball court, although this kind of recovery was not common at the time.

Wilkins was not surprised because he knew that athletes' bodies could only bear so much pressure before they reached their limits. "It's just an accident, and it can't be explained," Wilkins said in an interview with The Athletic. "Normally, when a player ruptured the Achilles tendon, he already has some long-term pain problems, but you don't expect it to burst out suddenly. I'm very sympathetic to Halliburton because the way he fell down looks like a total tear."

On Tuesday, Halliburton's injury was confirmed, further confirming a trend this season: players ruptured the Achilles tendon more frequently and the age trend became lighter. There is no single factor that explains why basketball players frequently experience this injury, with their longest and strongest tendons suffering severe damage. Physical loss is an important factor, Wilkins noted that with the popularity of AAU basketball, players entering the NBA have experienced more games than previous generations.

"No doubt this is due to overuse," Wilkins said. "AAU and other early training players never give their bodies a chance to rest. So, it must have something to do. Why are there more people rupturing the Achilles tendon now in this era of such advanced technology? It was not common for me to play."

For Wilkins, who averaged 24.8 points per game in 15 NBA seasons between 1982 and 1999, ruptured the Achilles tendon almost meant the end of his career. He was injured at the age of 32 and returned to the arena from his injury on January 28, 1992, and his recovery process lasted 282 days.

On November 6, 1992, against the Knicks in his first game of his comeback, Wilkins scored 30 points and made 13 of 26 shots. That season (1992-93), he averaged 29.9 points per game and ranked fifth in the regular season MVP vote.

Although "Human Film Essence" does not seem to miss any shots, it is not easy to return to normal. He knew it would be very difficult for Halliburton, Tatum and Lillard, and each of them would move forward on their own difficult path.

However, difficulties do not mean impossible.

"When I was injured, the first thing that came to my mind was that my career was over, because at the age of 32, it was difficult to get back to the same level as before," Wilkins said. "But I quickly made decisions to try hard to get back to my previous level, and even get better. I remember someone patting my back sarcastically and saying, 'Good luck.' But I always tell people that I'm going to be every day Twice training, lasted for nine months, and finally got back to where I used to, even played the most comprehensive season of my career, averaging nearly 30 points per game. That was a wonderful season for me."

Before seeing Halliburton's fall, Dr. Nicholas Strathor, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, recalled the 2019 NBA Finals. Strathor also serves as an ankle consultant for Vanderbil University Sports Medicine, the NHL Nashville Predators and the MLS Nashville team, remembers Durant, who was 30, tore his Achilles tendon while trying to overcome a calf strain.

"This scene is so similar to Durant's situation that I didn't even see Halibur and thought, 'Oh, no. Is he ripped his Achilles tendon?'" Strathor said in an interview with The Athletic. "When they play the playback, you can see how he reacts when he does a so-called ‘negative step’ action. You can almost see his legs rebounding."

From the orthopedic perspective, a negative step is when the player pushes his foot backwards and is often when he tries or fixes his foot behind the body in order to speed up or change direction. In this case, the Achilles tendon needs to contract and lengthen, which puts great pressure on the muscles, making it prone to breaking, especially in fatigued or degenerated tendons.

This is a typical non-contact injury, which patients often describe as feeling like they were kicked in the back of the calf.. "Keep patient and work hard, you need to learn how to play on the ground and in the air to become more basic. Injured players will notice these changes in their development."

Original text: James Jackson

Translated by JayChan

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