Kevin Garnett blames Achilles injuries in the NBA on players not being in great shape: “They are not in the shape to play at this pace in the NBA” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett commented on the alarming number of Achilles injuries in the NBA this season. Three superstar players, all eerily wearing the zero jersey number, suffered Achilles tears during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, including Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton, whose injury happened in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Overall, seven players tore their Achilles tendon, the most in a single season in the NBA.
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According to Garnett, he believes the theory that there is a relation between an Achilles tear and having a calf strain before the Achilles injury because the two body parts are related.
“We don’t think that today’s NBA players, they do play at a fast rate, but I don’t think they’re in tip-top shape,” said Garnett. “I don’t think the league is in the type of shape that you need to be in the type of shape to play at this pace. I think they think that, and if anybody knows the body, your calves are your breaks. The one thing that supports the calves is your Achilles. So if your calf is the first thing to shut down, you have to think about how things are built.”
KG urges players to strengthen their calves by doing calf raises
According to my.clevelandclinic.com, the Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone and helps move the feet and ankle.
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It starts in the middle of the calf and goes down to the heel. It is the largest and strongest tendon in the human body. Although it can resist large tensile forces, it’s not indestructible, especially when players aren’t doing much to strengthen it.
“I heard the other day some trainers was talking about the lack of calf raises for some of the players to end their workout, bro, we used to end a workout, especially on leg day, with calf raises. This is how I’m speeding up. This is how I’m stopping. This is my whole wiggle. If you calves ain’t here, add on top of whenever I finish I gotta be athletic enough to finish, right?”
“Strengthen your fu–in calves. Do the fu–ing calf raises every day,” advised KG.
Garnett’s claims were validated in a recent article
While Garnett is no doctor, he made some valid points in his analysis. In a recent ESPN article, a physical therapist from the University of Delaware named Karin Gravare Silbernagel talked about how today’s athletes focus on upper leg strength. Because of that, their lower leg also needs to keep up.
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“At this point, we need to start thinking about the calf and Achilles in the same way,” she said. “Do we have enough strength … to be able to tolerate the sport that we’re doing? The lower leg is lagging behind some of the other things that we do.”
As to the connection between calf injuries and Achilles tears, she said there is no clear proof linking the two injuries. But as KG said, the Achilles tendon is attached to the calf.
“We don’t necessarily see them going from having a calf strain and then rupturing the Achilles,” Gravare Silbernagel added, “but they’re all attached.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also said recently that the league is tapping AI to analyze player data to prevent or at least minimize the risk of players suffering the same fate as Dame, JT, and Hali.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.