Thunder's Sam Presti argues NBA too 'defensive' about injuries - ESPN

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti pushed back on how the NBA has been framing the uptick of injuries in recent season, saying it's «almost insulting» to argue there's no correlation between the number of games and player loads and how frequently players are getting hurt.

Presti spoke to reporters Monday ahead of free agency and one week after his team won Game 7 of the NBA Finals to deliver the city its first championship.

That game was marred, however, by Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear in the first quarter. He was the third player to suffer a torn Achilles in the postseason alone, along with Milwaukee's Damian Lillard and Boston's Jayson Tatum. In total, the NBA saw seven players tear their Achilles over the course of the season.

«I think the one thing we have to do is get away from the defensive nature of trying to convince people, players and teams that there's no connection between the loads and the injuries,» Presti said. «I think it's — we're kind of bordering on a level of like, it's almost insulting»

His comment appeared to be directed at NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who told ESPN last week that he doesn't believe the season is too long and that it's not clear if the number of games has anything to do with the injuries.

«When we look back at the last 10 years, the majority of the Achilles injuries have happened before the All-Star break,» Silver said. «So, it's not clear it's the number of games. And as you know, modern NBA players, even when they're not playing games sometimes in the summer they're working harder than they are during the season when they're playing three games a week.»

Presti mentioned the NBA's 65-game rule to qualify for certain awards, the condensed