play0:53Jason Kidd doesn’t consider Kyrie ‘ahead of schedule’Mavs coach Jason Kidd dismisses reports that Kyrie Irving is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
play1:30Shams details what makes OKC special after Jalen Williams’ extensionShams Charania explains the significance of the Thunder locking up their core after Jalen Williams’ extension.
play0:55How much of Joel Embiid will we see this season?Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to explain why there is no set timeline for Joel Embiid to return from injury.
Why Perk believes Zion deserves a break from criticism (1:33)Kendrick Perkins believes the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson deserves grace as he is working himself back to health for the NBA season. (1:33)
Jason Kidd doesn’t consider Kyrie ‘ahead of schedule’Mavs coach Jason Kidd dismisses reports that Kyrie Irving is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Shams details what makes OKC special after Jalen Williams’ extensionShams Charania explains the significance of the Thunder locking up their core after Jalen Williams’ extension.
Shams Charania explains the significance of the Thunder locking up their core after Jalen Williams’ extension.
How much of Joel Embiid will we see this season?Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to explain why there is no set timeline for Joel Embiid to return from injury.
Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to explain why there is no set timeline for Joel Embiid to return from injury.
We’re a week away from opening tipoff for the 2025-26 NBA season with a few familiar faces and some new ones ready to take the court starting Oct. 21.
Victor Wembanyama will be back and healthy to start the season after being shut down last February because of a blood clot in his right shoulder. And Zion Williamson will be back after playing in only 30 games last season for the New Orleans Pelicans because of various injuries.
But you’ll have to wait to see a few notable superstars debut this season. Los Angeles Lakers front man LeBron James is expected to sit out three to four weeks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Plus, Kyrie Irving appears to be working his way back from his season-ending ACL tear last March.
Before we get caught up in the whirlwind of the regular season, our NBA insiders provide updates on the injury status of key players and break down who is primed to make a notable return during opening week and who to keep an eye on as the regular season progresses.
In six seasons in the league, Williamson has played 60 or more games only twice and was shut down last season in March after dealing with a bone bruise, having played only 30 games.
“I really felt a shift in my body to where I would look at [Bove] and say, ‘Dude, it feels good to feel good.’ I haven’t felt like this since college, high school, where I can walk into a gym, I feel good.” — Ohm Youngmisuk
Porzingis played for the Latvia national team at EuroBasket this past summer and the center said the tournament helped him get back into shape for the upcoming season. The Hawks will need a healthy Porzingis to stretch the floor and provide a defensive presence at the rim for Trae Young and the Hawks to contend in the East.
“I don’t know, maybe it was just my system needed some reset during the summer,” Porzingis said. “I was really happy I had this summer, got in shape, played the tournament, I felt confident again like I have the gas tank again.” — Youngmisuk
Ball spent time in the weight room this offseason to get stronger. After playing in a total of 105 games over the past three seasons combined because of injuries — most recently being shut down last season to have surgery on his ankle and wrist — Ball is determined to stay on the court.
“I’ve noticed a different commitment level in that area,” Lee said at Hornets media day. “Melo noticed that he is always drawing the best, most physical defender. At times, they made it difficult on him.
“So this year, adding that weight room piece for him was really important. … I think he has increased his lean muscle mass, he has increased his weight.” — Youngmisuk
Wembanyama was limited to 46 games last season because of right shoulder deep vein thrombosis. It motivated him to push himself physically and mentally this offseason in ways he has never experienced. He approached the offseason looking to try unconventional training methods, such as a 10-day retreat at a Shaolin temple in China, replete with meditation and kung fu training, and spent time working with Houston Rockets icon Hakeem Olajuwon.
Early returns look promising. He has bullied defenders in the preseason and swatted shots from all over the court. Wembanyama is fully healthy and has improved his body control, adding upper- and lower-body strength. And according to the 21-year-old, the chances for a recurrence of DVT are very low. — Michael C. Wright
Jason Kidd doesn’t consider Kyrie ‘ahead of schedule’
Mavs coach Jason Kidd dismisses reports that Kyrie Irving is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
After sitting out the final few weeks of last season because of a finger injury — one of many maladies during a season that, even by 76ers standards, felt particularly cursed — Maxey is healthy and ready to go for the start of this season.
He played in the two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi last week and is on track to begin the season as the starting point guard. Given the number of other injuries Philadelphia is already dealing with, the fact that Maxey is ready to go will be music to the ears of coach Nick Nurse. — Tim Bontemps
Williams initially suffered a fairly severe wrist injury — a torn scapholunate ligament — late in the regular season while grappling for a loose ball with Devin Booker in Phoenix. He played through it, estimating he needed nearly 30 painkilling shots during the Thunder’s run to the title. That delayed surgery until July 1, attached to a 12-week reevaluation clock, which expired right before training camp.
Last season, McCain was well on his way to winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award when he suffered a meniscus injury that cut things short after only 23 games last December — adding to the injury bug that plagued Philadelphia last season. But while McCain is fully healed from that injury, he tore a tendon in his right (shooting) thumb that required surgery last month, an issue that will cost him time at the start of the regular season.
Though the 76ers have plenty of guard depth, they also want to get McCain on the court with both Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick in the June draft. — Bontemps
Last March, Fox opted to undergo season-ending surgery to repair tendon damage in his left pinkie finger and recovered just fine from that setback, only to suffer a strained right hamstring during a summer workout that leaves in question his availability for San Antonio’s Oct. 22 season opener at Dallas. Fox acknowledged he would sit out the preseason while expressing doubt he’d be ready to play in the opener.
But internally, the team has been encouraged by Fox’s progress. It’s worth noting that San Antonio traditionally errs on the side of caution when bringing players back from injuries. It certainly helps that the roster features a glut of guards that includes last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper. — Wright
Murray has spent six days a week in the training room, rehabbing and working his way back from a ruptured right Achilles tendon suffered at the end of January, and could be back this January.
The point guard is eager to return after his first season in New Orleans was limited to only 31 games, as he was also hampered by a broken hand. Murray averaged 17.5 points, 7.4 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals after coming in a trade from Atlanta.
“I’ve been having fun seeing the progression, knowing that day it all happened, I just couldn’t walk and couldn’t feel my calf. It was a challenge and I accepted it.” — Youngmisuk
In a familiar feeling for the 76ers and their fans — most unfortunately — there is no bigger health question in the league than Embiid, and specifically his troublesome left knee. For more than a calendar year, it has been unclear when, or if, Embiid is going to be right again, and he reiterated that at media day last month.
“I’ve had so many injuries,” Embiid said. “The only thing I’ve always told myself is you can’t give up.”
Though both Embiid and the 76ers are not giving up on the superstar center returning to the dominant form that led to winning the league’s MVP award for the 2023 season, it remains unclear when he will be back on the court, be it at the start of the season or sometime after that. — Bontemps
Shams details what makes OKC special after Jalen Williams’ extension
After his postseason was affected by a turf toe injury, Garland opted to have surgery in June, one that is likely to sideline him for the first few weeks of the regular season. Garland said at media day last week that his recovery is on schedule and that he’s running and doing on-court work. He remains out of participating with the team in practices to start the preseason, and isn’t expected to be ready to play in any exhibition games.
But Cleveland has made it clear that it isn’t going to rush Garland back — given the Cavaliers are hoping to be playing into June, and need Garland at 100% to do that. — Bontemps
George’s status for the start of the season remains unclear after it was announced he’d undergone an arthroscopic surgery after suffering an injury in an offseason workout — an ominous sign after only playing in half the games in his first season in 2024-25.
George, who has done some on-court work, said, “I do think I will be at a good place, hopefully earlier than later. Can’t get any worse than last year. That was a rock-bottom type of season.”
We’ll see if last season was, in fact, as bad as it can get, but the 76ers will be hoping George can be back either by opening night or soon thereafter. — Bontemps
Irving isn’t only taking spot-up jump shots. He’s working on his legendary isolation game, making one- and two-dribble moves against the defense of a team staffer. He often takes turns with No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg during these sessions, helping teach the 18-year-old rookie some tricks of the trade.