Entering the 2016-17 NBA season, here are 20 high-profile players hoping to bounce back and shed the dreaded “injury-prone” label.
As is the case in any professional sport, one of the worst things about the NBA is the injury bug. From superstars to rookies to role players to third-stringers and D-Leaguers, no one is immune from its wrath, which can derail the course of a team’s season, a player’s season, or even a player’s career.
Every year, we’re left with an increasingly long series of injury-related what-ifs. We saw it as recently as the past two seasons, when injuries to Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut left us wondering how the NBA Finals would’ve played out between two perfectly healthy teams.
There are no excuses in this game, but there’s no denying that injuries play a massive role in playoff series, NBA Draft lottery odds and even free agency and trade discussions every year. Entering the 2016-17 season, there are plenty of injury-prone players who will be looking to restore their image and put together healthy seasons.
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Some guys are frail and some are just unlucky, but whatever the case, the following 20 players will be looking to bounce back in 2016-17 and shed the injury-prone label that’s been attached to their names.
To determine how drastically each one needs a bounce-back year, we’ve ranked these players based on how young they are, how extensive their injury history is, what’s at stake for them in the upcoming season and how much they’re being paid next year. Let’s get started.
Honorable Mentions: DeMarre Carroll, Wilson Chandler, Jusuf Nurkic, Josh McRoberts, Al Jefferson
Next: No. 20