Illnesses, Incidents, & Injuries In Basketball During The COVID Pandemic

We took it upon ourselves to analyze the National Basketball Association's (NBAs) player illnesses and injuries, as well as other incidents in basketball since the beginning of the COVID Pandemic. In order to do so, we sifted through the injury report for every single NBA game of the most current NBA regular season, 2024-2025 (1,230 games). We found that illnesses & injuries are up since the beginning of the COVID Pandemic in 2020. Let's dig a little deeper:

NBA Illness Only (2024-2025 Season)

• 616 illness listings on the IR (Injury Report)

• 421 games missed due to illness

• 217 unique players were listed on IR with illness (360 game active players between the 30 teams, 12 per team)

A few interesting notes before viewing the notable player illnesses & incidents below:

1. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) was mentioned as a cause of missing a game exactly 0 times for the entire 2024-2025 season. That's slightly suspicious.

2. As seen in the spread sheet, 45 of the 217 players listed on the IR with an illness had their illness stated as a "non-COVID illness". Influenza, stomach illness, respiratory illness, viral illness, strep throat, and head cold were mentioned, but never COVID.

3. Certain teams list all, or almost all, their illnesses as "non-COVID Illness", as if they have a special test to determine that, or are they even testing at all? Would be interesting to know. Those teams include the: Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Washington Wizards. Why are these teams so keen on stating illnesses are "non-COVID"? Coincidentally enough, the first notable player listed below is a Boston Celtic who has a viral illness that seems to have manifested into Long COVID, and only one virus can do that.

4. Also, listed in the spread sheet is a list of 63 deceased basketball players (a few recently former ones) all who were age 42 and under when they passed away in unusual circumstances since 2020 (there are likely many more).

5. The spread sheet also shows all the NBA players and dates of their injury report listed illnesses for the entire 2024-2025 season.

Notable NBA Illnesses & Incidents (2024-2025 Season)

• Kristaps Porzingis "KP" - 1x All Star (Boston Celtics): A viral illness has caused him to be listed on the IR 18 times and miss 15 games in the regular season (missing games since end of January 2025). He's currently significantly under performing and struggling to play in the playoffs well into May of 2025.

  
  

  Regular Season

  - 28.8 mins

  - 19.5 pts

  - 6.8 rebs

  - 48.3 fg%

  
  

  Playoffs

  - 21.9 mins

  - 8.1 pts

  - 4.6 rebs

  - 32.0 fg%
  

• Naji Marshall (Dallas Mavericks): Listed on IR 12 times and has missed 9 games due to illness (over the course of more than 2 months).
  

• Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons): Missed 21 of the 22 games he was listed on the IR due to a blood clot. Had an illness and then the blood clot at the end of the prior season causing him to miss 19 games as well.
  

• Bronny James (Los Angeles Lakers): Was listed 5 games on IR with an illness and missed 4 of those games. He didn't play entire season on the Lakers, was in the G League (minor league) for part of the time. He's also notable because when he was 18 during a USC basketball practice he went in to cardiac arrest.
  

• Christian Koloko (Los Angeles Lakers): Due to a respiratory illness and blood clot, Koloko missed all 5 of the games he was listed on IR for illness.
  

• Marcus Smart (Memphis Grizzles & Washington Wizards): Smart missed 7 of the 9 games he was listed on IR having an illness with two different teams.
  

• Damian Lillard - 9x All Star (Milwaukee Bucks): Due to illness and then deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) Lillard missed 16 regular season games with being listed on IR 17 times. He had to be put on blood thinners. Eventually Damian was able to return in the playoffs (but missed time in the playoffs as well).
  

• Victor Wembanyama - 1x All Star (San Antonio Spurs): Due to deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) Wembanyama was forced to be shut down for the rest of the season, missing 31 games. Wembanyama had to undergo shoulder surgery for his deep vein thrombosis.

  
  

• Chris Boucher (Toronto Raptors): Boucher missed 5 of the 7 games he was listed on IR with illness. Puzzlingly, he wound up not playing in any of the last 23 games of the Raptors season. It makes you wonder if illness designations are purposefully not being reported at times in professional sports leagues.
  

• RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors): Missed 8 of the 10 games listed on IR due to illness over the course of more than 3 months. Additionally, RJ Barrett's 19 year old brother suddenly died in March of 2024 after falling ill for several weeks.

Notable NBA Illnesses & Incidents (2020-2024)

• Joel Embiid - 7x All Star (Philadelphia 76ers): Joel experienced Bell's Palsy, including blurred vision, dry eyes, and migraines in April of 2024. This affected him for at least 10 days (but likely much longer).

  
  

• Serge Ibaka (Milwaukee Bucks): Missed 11 games due to illness from November into December of 2022.

  
  

• CJ McCollum (New Orleans Pelicans): In November 2022, CJ McCollum was ruled out of a game due to an illness. The Pelicans announced that he was also entering the NBA's Health and Safety protocols. Later reports indicated he had a small pneumothorax (collapsed lung) in his right lung. He thus missed 12 games. 

  
  

  This was not the first time McCollum had experienced a collapsed lung, as he had previously had one in December 2021 while with the Portland Trail Blazers. McCollum missed 17 games over six weeks from that incident.

  
  

• Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers): After missing 6 games because of health and safety protocols due to COVID (November 2021), Harris suited up in 8 of the 10 next games. The 29-year-old then sat out the Sixers’ Dec. 3 win over the Hawks with what the team classified as a “non-COVID illness.” However, based on Harris’ comments, COVID-19 was relevant in that absence. Harris was asked whether he’s experiencing after-effects of the virus. “Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “I still feel like every day I have a cold. Honestly, I think that’s just what it is right now when you’re playing the game and your body is taking on stress — stress from activity. But for me, it’s just keep fighting through and hopefully progress over time. Obviously it’s something that you don’t really know too much about as a whole.”

  
  

• Nicolas Claxton (Brooklyn Nets): Nicolas Claxton, 22 at the time, missed 17 games over the course of more than a month in late 2021 due to an illness. He lost 15-20 pounds very quickly, from an already thin weight.

  
  

• Brandon Goodwin (Atlanta Hawks): In October 2021, Brandon Goodwin was diagnosed with blood clots, which led to him missing the 2021 NBA playoffs. He attributed the condition to a COVID-19 Vaccine Injury. 

  
  

• Larry Nance Jr. (Cleveland Cavaliers): In March 2021, Larry Nance Jr. was sidelined, bedridden, by an undetermined illness that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds in a week.

  
  

• Frank Jackson (Detroit Pistons): Missed 13 games from February to March of 2021 due to illness.

  
  

• Karl-Anthony Towns - 5x All Star (Minnesota Timberwolves): Hospitalized due to COVID (acquired 1/15/21)."COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights. One of the things that I told my sister when I got COVID was that, 'Hey, I got it, and I don't got a good version of it. I got a lot of COVID in me, but I am going to fight and beat it,'" Anthony-Towns said. He wound up missing 13 games. In addition to his personal experience, Towns lost his mother and seven other family members to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID).

  
  

• Seth Curry (Philadelphia 76ers): Seth Curry, Steph's brother, contracted SARS-CoV-2 in January of 2021. He didn't seem to come into form until more than a month from being sick as he still was inconsistent at times after starting the season red hot. He originally remained quarantined in his basement for 7 games. A couple of weeks later, he finally returned to the court. “It’s been tough,” Curry admitted following a practice. “[I've had] little nagging injuries here and there, I’ve been banged up a little bit. Some of the big remnants are also just trying to get my energy all the way back. Some days I feel good; some days, I’m just sluggish, and it’s like I got to take a nap all day, so it’s weird ...”

  
  

• Jayson Tatum - 6x All Star (Boston Celtics): Tatum contracted a SARS-CoV-2 infection on 1/9/21. He had issues getting his wind under him after his return after missing more than two weeks. Tatum detailed his struggles to feel 100 percent, saying: “Just running up and down the court a few times, it’s easier to get out of breath or tired a lot faster. I’ve noticed that since I’ve had COVID. It’s just something I’m working on. It’s gotten better since the first game I played, but I still deal with it from time to time." (said this on or around 2/16/21).

  
  

• Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (New York Knicks): Kidd-Gilchrist acquired a SARS-CoV-2 infection likely around December of 2020. He was diagnosed with COVID-19-related Myocarditis and has not played in the NBA since 2020. He's suing an insurance company (Llyod's of London) for $40M for allegedly denying coverage for COVID-19-related heart disease. (Article from 10/6/23).
  

• Mo Bamba (Orlando Magic): Nearly six months later after testing positive with COVID on 6/11/20, he still had not fully recovered (at the time of the article). His initial symptoms were loss of his senses: lack of taste and smell. He also dealt with fatigue and muscle soreness, but his conditioning has held him back though cleared to play.
  

• Rudy Gobert - 3x All Star (Utah Jazz): Became the first NBA player with a confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 on 3/11/20. Lost sense of taste and smell, and smell hadn't returned as of June 2020.

Notable Non-NBA Basketball Player Illnesses & Incidents (2020-2025)

• Dejan Milojević (Golden State Warriors Assistant Coach, Age 46): Suddenly died due to a Heart Attack in January of 2024.

  
  

• Dwyane Wade (Retired NBA Player, Age 41): Wade underwent surgery in December 2023 to remove 40% of his right kidney due to a cancerous tumor. He experienced symptoms including stomach issues and cramps prior to the diagnosis. Wade described the ordeal as the "weakest point" of his life.

  
  

• Imo Essien (Old Dominion University): Essien collapsed on the court in-game two seasons ago (1/7/23), after more than a year without any issues, he experienced a similar medical scare this preseason (2024). The guard said he believes his shortness of breath that led to his collapse was the result of an illness he had been battling during that week, as well as dehydration.

  
  

• Maranda Nyborg (Fordham University): After a few days of minor symptoms started in October of 2022, a strep test came back positive, and Nyborg was prescribed antibiotics. She started taking the medication.

  
  

  Despite the antibiotics, Nyborg wasn't getting better. She was throwing up the pills, and there was a constant cramping pain in her left shoulder blade that she thought might be dehydration. One night, everything escalated: She had a fever that wasn't going down, and she was in a lot of pain, with numbness and tingling on her left arm. Finally, Nyborg was taken for an MRI. The scan found a dangerous abscess on her spinal cord.

  
  

  Developing such an abscess, a bacteria called Fusobacterium necrophorum, from a case of strep throat is incredibly rare. Such abscesses are more common in people who are immunocompromised, but an illness can also create an opportunity for bacteria to attack otherwise healthy patients.

  
  

• Jeremy Lin (Beijing Ducks - Pro): Lin lost 20 pounds after a Long COVID-19 bout (beginning 8/7/21). Jeremy returned back to active competition with the Beijing Ducks after a 10-month absence.
  

• Keyontae Johnson (University of Florida): Keyontae suddenly collapsed on the court during a game against Florida State on December 12, 2020. He was rushed to the hospital and was in a medically induced coma for 3 days. His collapse was due to acute Myocarditis.

  
  

• Michael Ojo (KK Crvena zvezda - Pro): Former Florida State basketball player collapsed from a heart attack during individual practice on August 7, 2020. In June of 2020 he was diagnosed with COVID. In early July he was suffering from cough, chest pains, and fever. On July 6th, Ojo was diagnosed with Pneumonia in the right lung, while a week later, a start of pneumonia in the left lung was noticed.

  
  

  Crvena Zvezda president noted that doctors advise against intense physical activity for three, four, even up to six weeks after pneumonia, even in the case of athletes. He also stated that Coronavirus and Pneumonia, which followed could have impacted the heart condition of the deceased player. He died at age 27.
  

• Asia Durr (New York Liberty - WNBA): Asia wound up missing 2 seasons of WNBA play after contracting COVID (June of 2020). She experienced fatigue, headaches, and a feeling of "fog" when it came to concentration and memory. "One day, I feel better. The next, I feel terrible."

Finally, we analyzed the total missed games through the 1st half of the schedule from different seasons:

• 2018-2019: Approximately, 2,400 total player games lost to injury or illness through the first half of the season (41 games).

  
  

  COVID Pandemic Begins

  
  

• 2021-2022: Approximately, 3,617 total player games lost to injury or illness through the first half of the season (41 games). An increase of 50.7% over the pre-COVID 2018-2019 season.

  
  

• 2022-2023: The total player games lost to injury or illness through 41 games played was 2,917 (700 less than 2021-2023). An increase of 21.5% over the pre-COVID 2018-2019 season.

  
  

  The primary reason for the reduction is the substantial decrease in games missed to COVID-19 and COVID-19-related health protocols (they were changed and weren't as strict as the prior years).

  
  

  Nearly 1,000 fewer games lost to illness have been recorded in the 2022-23 season when compared to the 2021-22 campaign. Winter was particularly problematic the prior season as the omicron variant forced players in-and-out of protocols. The situation became so difficult that teams were granted roster relief and allowed to sign a replacement player for every roster player who tested positive for COVID-19. Even that proved difficult as multiple replacement players, like point guard Isaiah Thomas, signed deals with new teams only to be placed in protocols themselves.

  Injury data source