No Dunks Podcast Summary: "Does The NBA Have A Serious Injury Problem?"

Released: December 9, 2025 | Hosts: Tas Melas, JD, Trey Kirby | Main Guest: Dr. James Borchers

Episode Overview

This episode explores the NBA’s increasingly visible injury problem, focusing particularly on whether there’s a root cause impacting player health—and what the league (and youth sports more broadly) could do about it. Dr. James Borchers, President/CEO of the U.S. Council for Athletes Health, joins Tas, JD, and Trey to break down the trends in NBA injuries, the cumulative impact of youth sports specialization, advancements in recovery, and how the approach to both player development and league policy might need to change. The conversation is filled with practical insights for parents, coaches, and fans, with the light, fun "No Dunks" banter throughout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Are NBA Injuries on the Rise?

• Cumulative Effect Starts in Youth Sports
  • Dr. Borchers explains that increased volume and early sports specialization over the past 15+ years, especially in youth basketball (AAU, high school), leads to players entering the NBA with far more "miles" on their bodies.
    • "You have to start looking back at what is going on in youth sports ... the increased volume, increased sports specialization ... athletes getting into the NBA with more wear and tear." — Dr. Borchers [03:12]
• Not Just Bad Luck—A Systemic Issue
  • Discussion centers on whether injuries are flukes, or the consequence of years of repetitive stress, especially on soft tissues like the Achilles.
    • "It's a cumulative effect of what you see in micro injuries over time ... that's what ends up causing a lot of these soft tissue injuries." — Dr. Borchers [06:21]

2. Specialization vs. Multi-Sport Approach

• Why Specialization Increases Injury Risk
  • Playing a single sport year-round leads to repetitive use injuries, as the same body parts are stressed repeatedly without enough variety or rest.
  • "You’re doing the same activity over and over ... it's just the wear and tear on an athlete with all the increased volume and training." — Dr. Borchers [07:22]
• Optimal Age for Specialization?
  • Dr. Borchers recommends multi-sport participation at least until mid-to-late high school. Early specialization does not correlate with better performance, only higher injury/burnout risk.
    • "The best athletes in the world are multi-sport athletes. Specializing at a young age doesn’t help your ability to play that sport." — Dr. Borchers [12:27]

3. Advances in Injury Recovery and Rehab

• Modern Players Bounce Back Faster—Why?
  • Younger athletes recover better; surgical and rehab techniques have advanced. 24/7 access to elite rehab resources accelerates healing compared to previous generations.
    • "The biggest thing is the rehabilitation ... when you’re spending hours a day in rehab, you’re just going to recover faster." — Dr. Borchers [08:58]
• Should the NBA Standardize Recovery/Prehab?
  • While NBA teams have top-tier resources, a uniform league-wide recovery plan is difficult due to individual histories and the legacy of youth sports wear-and-tear.
    • "You can’t undo what’s gone on in the past ... so affecting youth sport, educating parents and coaches—there’s just no benefit to breaking your body down at age 15 or 16." — Dr. Borchers [10:27], [11:39]

4. Specific Injury Trends

• Achilles, Calf, and Hamstring Spikes
  • Why so many early-season soft tissue injuries?—it’s again about “overall load”: more games, less recovery, and long-term accumulated exhaustion.
    • "We're just doing nothing but playing. We don't even have time to recover. We're traveling ... Are we really giving people a chance to recover?" — Dr. Borchers [14:45]
• Injury Recurrence and 'Prehab'
  • Players with previous injuries are highly susceptible to repeat issues. Preventative work (“prehab”) is critical—for some, it should equal playing time.
    • "The most predictive thing for those kind of injuries are previous injuries ... if you've had that kind of injury, you have to almost double down on prevention." — Dr. Borchers [18:19]

5. Height, Skill Development, & Changing NBA Demographics

• No Height-Related Injury Spike
  • Despite lineups getting taller, there’s not a direct link to more injuries among big men. Today’s tall athletes are simply more skilled, mobile, and physically prepared than in prior generations.
    • "Taller players today handle the ball, move so much better ... I don’t know that height matters as much; it’s about athletic development and skillset." — Dr. Borchers [20:17]

6. The Role of Recovery, Scheduling, and Pace

• Schedule, Pace of Play, and Travel = Fatigue
  • Steve Kerr’s complaints (pace, back-to-backs, travel) all contribute to less recovery and higher risk. Sleep, nutrition, and real rest are essential but increasingly hard to come by.
    • "The secret sauce to athletics today is recovery: physically, mentally, emotionally ... if you’re not able to do that, fatigue sets in and you’re at risk." — Dr. Borchers [24:28]
• Support for Load Management
  • Dr. Borchers is behind smarter rest/load management decisions, noting that protecting players' long-term health often outweighs short-term participation policies.
    • "It's not just that third game that's part of the issue. It's not just this season—it's the whole environment, including what that player did at age 15." — Dr. Borchers [27:02]

7. Prolonged NBA Careers & Lessons for the Rest of Us

• Why Are Players Lasting Longer?
  • Commitment, recovery science, nutrition, and the sophistication of support teams. Today’s players invest heavily in body care and recovery.
    • "You just can’t believe the amount of emphasis on recovery ... the dedication, the science—we understand what it takes to perform at your highest for longer." — Dr. Borchers [29:50]
• Longevity Tips for Regular People
  • Three core tips: move every day (exercise), eat well (nutrition), and truly rest (recovery/sleep).
    • "If you take my activity level, nutrition, and find a way to recover—you’ve got a great chance to be healthy and happy and do what you love." — Dr. Borchers [31:22]
  • "The best recovery modality out there is sleep, and there's nothing that substitutes for it ... Sleep is free." — Dr. Borchers [33:01]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Youth Specialization:
  "There's no benefit to breaking your body down at 15 or 16 at the detriment of what could happen to you years later.” — Dr. James Borchers [11:39]
• On Achilles Injuries:
  "It's a cumulative effect ... micro injuries and partial injuries cause these soft tissue type injuries, especially in jumping athletes." — Dr. James Borchers [06:21]
• On Modern Recovery:
  "The best recovery modality out there is sleep ... you can wear all the wearables you want, but sleep is free." — Dr. James Borchers [33:01]
• On Athletic Evolution:
  "Taller athletes now are developing a better skillset, are better athletes ... in past decades you didn’t see that kind of athleticism out of seven-footers." — Dr. James Borchers [20:17]
• On Scheduling and Fatigue:
  "You get done with a game and you gotta jump on a plane, you cross time zones, sleep gets disrupted, even if you pay attention—fatigue sets in." — Dr. James Borchers [26:00]
• On What Parents Should Do:
  "Let your kids play a lot of different sports. They're going to be better athletes. They're also going to have less wear and tear." — Dr. James Borchers [13:05]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:12] – How youth sports trends contribute to NBA injury problems
• [05:41] – Cumulative vs. random nature of injuries such as Achilles tears
• [08:58] – Advances in recovery and rehabilitation, why young pros bounce back faster
• [10:27] – Can the NBA do more to standardize injury prevention?
• [12:27] – When should kids specialize in a single sport (if ever)?
• [14:45] – Surge in calf and hamstring injuries and fatigue factors
• [18:19] – "Prehab" and how recurrence shapes which players get injured
• [20:17] – NBA’s height trends: why tall players aren’t necessarily at risk
• [24:28] – The "secret sauce" of modern athletic success: recovery
• [27:02] – Load management, rest, and the real roots of injury risk
• [29:50] – Why modern players have longer careers
• [31:22] – Longevity/health tips for regular folks
• [33:01] – Why sleep is the ultimate recovery tool

Tone and Style

True to No Dunks’ culture, the conversation is accessible, smart, and peppered with moments of humor (“Sleep is free!” and the relatable parental angling about youth sports). While Dr. Borchers provides technical expertise, the hosts keep things conversational and grounded in actual NBA news and fan perspective.

Quick Takeaways

• NBA injuries are an accumulation of stress—from youth all the way up.
• Early specialization isn’t the golden ticket: multi-sport kids have safer/longer athletic paths.
• The science of recovery is advancing—but so are the demands being placed on bodies.
• Even as star injuries rise, player longevity is also improving due to better science, sleep, and recovery.
• Fans, parents, and casual athletes should move daily, eat well, and SLEEP—for free, for real!

For Further Listening

• Dr. James Borchers on youth development and injury prevention [12:27, 13:05]
• Tangents on current NBA injury scenarios (Franz Wagner, Magic, etc.) [37:20+]
• Discussion of scheduling, load management, and Steve Kerr's critiques [24:28–27:00]

For coaches, players, parents—and anyone who loves or participates in sports—this episode offers both a clear-eyed warning on overuse and burnout, and an optimistic view on modern athlete health and longevity. It’s a must-listen for NBA fans seeking to understand “the injury problem” beyond the headlines.