NBA Investigates Record Seven Achilles Injuries Using AI

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has announced that the league is taking a comprehensive look at the surge in Achilles tendon injuries following a season in which seven players suffered such injuries, compared to none the previous year and a previous high of four in a season. Silver emphasized that the league had convened a panel of sports medicine experts to investigate the issue even before Tyrese Haliburton's recent injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The rise in injuries has prompted questions about whether the NBA season is too long, but Silver noted there is no clear evidence linking injury rates to the number of games, highlighting that most Achilles injuries over the past decade have occurred before the All-Star break. Instead, he suggested that factors such as offseason training intensity and the way young players prepare may be contributing to the problem. To aid in the investigation, the NBA is leveraging artificial intelligence to analyze player game footage and search for previously undetected injury patterns. The league is committed to understanding and addressing the uptick to better protect its athletes.