NBA Injury Report: Key Injuries Heading Into the 2026-27 Season

Published: Oct 15, 2026

Updated: Oct 15, 2026

Status as of Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Statuses come from team announcements and attributed reporting from national insiders. The official NBA Injury Report begins with regular-season games, and this report will switch to it as its primary source starting next week.

The 2026-’27 season kicks off next Tuesday with a three-game slate, and the day afterwards we see the rest of the league begin their 82-game campaign. There are plenty of players already dealing with injuries suffered in preseason and even some that were suffered before that. Let’s dive into the injuries we’re monitoring as we head into the first week of the year and those that we’re going to be keeping in the back of our minds because we won’t see them until the second half of the season.

Biggest Injury News Heading Into NBA Opening Week

Coby White, Charlotte Hornets - Calf

Coby White suffered a calf strain and was shut down for the entire preseason. He’s no stranger to calf strains as he had one to each leg last year and only played 50 games because of it a year ago. There’s been no discussion about missing the beginning of the year, but with the fact that he’s been unable to compete in the preseason, he’ll likely be limited when he does return.

Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets - Hamstring

After tweaking his hamstring, the Hornets are unsure if Kon Knueppel will be available for the Hornets' first game despite the fact that he wants to. They’re going to be cautious with their second-year star and make sure they try to avoid any sort of aggravation.

Nic Claxton, Chicago Bulls - Hamstring

Coach Tiago Splitter said back on October 5th that Claxton tweaked his hamstring and would be re-evaluated in two weeks. That puts his check-in right before Chicago opens at Toronto on October 21st, so expect him to be listed as questionable at best.

Bradley Beal, Los Angeles Clippers - Knee

Another year in which Bradley Beal heads into the campaign with an ailment. This time it’s his knee, and he won’t be ready for the start of the year because of it. They could use Beal given how many other injuries the Clippers have suffered this offseason

Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Clippers - Achilles

This is the first positive news item that the Clippers have had the ENTIRE offseason, as Brandon Ingram, who’s recovering from a partially torn Achilles, has resumed on-court workouts. That doesn’t mean he’s close to returning because it’s a very serious injury he’s recovering from, and at this time there is no concrete date for when he will play.

Max Strus, Los Angeles Clippers - Foot

Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot five minutes into the preseason opener in Honolulu on Oct. 4 and will be re-evaluated in about four weeks. That is a re-evaluation date, not a return date, and it rules him out for the Oct. 21 opener against Sacramento.

Anthony Black, Orlando Magic - Ankle

Black suffered an ankle sprain that he’s been recovering from. He’s ramping up to be ready for games, which makes us believe he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. He probably won’t be ready for the Magic’s final preseason game.

Dejounte Murray, New Orleans Pelicans - Toe

With the Pelicans' final dress rehearsal coming up on Friday, we’ll see if Dejounte Murray is available, but he’s missed some time due to an injured toe. The Pelicans have commented that they’re acting cautiously with Murray, so everything seems to be OK, but they’re not risking it during the preseason.

Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings - Knee

The Kings will be without their backup center, Maxime Raynaud, for at least five games due to a right patellar subluxation. Frankie Cartoscelli of KHTK Sac-Town Sports 1140 reports it’s possible it is even longer than that.

Dylan Cardwell, Sacramento Kings - Calf

Just like Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell is going to miss the first five or six games, and it’s possible that it’s longer than that, according to Frankie Cartoscelli of KHTK Sac-Town Sports 1140. Cardwell is dealing with a calf strain.

Tobias Harris, San Antonio Spurs - Calf

The Spurs have outwardly said they will NOT rush Tobias Harris back from his calf strain that he suffered this preseason. He won’t play again this preseason and is going to go into the opener against the Thunder as questionable.

Jusuf Nurkic, Utah Jazz - Toe

Utah announced a partial plantar plate tear in the second toe of his right foot, suffered in the Oct. 4 preseason opener. A four-week re-evaluation window projects to roughly the first eight regular-season games, but he shouldn’t miss much more time than that.

Kristaps Porzingis, Golden State Warriors - Illness

Porzingis has been away from the team since the start of training camp with an undisclosed health issue. General manager Mike Dunleavy initially declined to rule him out for the opener, but Golden State said on Oct. 14 that he will remain out indefinitely while staying around the team. No return timeline has been announced. He appeared in only 15 regular-season games for the Warriors last season after arriving in a February trade.

Dereck Lively, Dallas Mavericks - Foot

Lively was not cleared for training camp as he continues to recover from December surgery on his right foot. ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that he has not suffered a setback but is ramping up slowly, and the Mavericks said on Oct. 11 that his recovery timeline is unclear.

Isaiah Stewart, Memphis Grizzlies - Ankle

Stewart sprained his left ankle two minutes into his preseason debut with Memphis. With a two-week re-evaluation on a moderate sprain, he is expected to miss the Oct. 21 opener but could return shortly after.

Long-Term Absences

Players ruled out for the season or with announced multi-week absences. Timelines appear only when a team or a named reporter has provided one.