The Future of the NBA

It seems like another long-standing record is broken every other day from most points to most assists to the all-time scoring record. Decade-old records are being shattered weekly! It leads us to wonder what exactly is causing this recent success and what the future holds for the NBA.

The NBA, or the National Basketball Association, is the highest tier of professional basketball held in the United States. Players from all over the world converge to bring us the best the sport can offer. Famous names throughout history have brought us some unbelievable records, from Micheal Jordan’s 7 consecutive scoring titles to Kobe Bryant’s astonishing 33,643 points as a guard, and Bill Russell’s historic 11 Championships. In the NBA’s 70-year history, fans have been treated to a 70-point game from 4 different players; however in 2023 alone 2 more have joined the list: Donavan Mitchell and Damian ‘Dame’ Lilliard. The real question is how? How are these players able to push themselves to these new heights?

It turns out that a combination of cutting-edge medicine and innovative training techniques are allowing players to break records faster than ever before. In recent times, doctors have been able to synthesise and use stem cells as a method of recovery for players. Stem cells are special cells that can differentiate into other types of cells like bone or muscle cells. By injecting stem cells into injured or damaged areas of the body, doctors are able to help the body heal faster and more effectively. Not only does this help athletes recover from intense physical demands and injury-prone situations faster but it also allows them to commit fully to every game knowing they will be ready to perform healthy and fit in a week's time. Another popular modern technique is Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. For this treatment, a player's blood is extracted and processed to isolate platelets, parts of blood cells that help form blood clots to slow or stop bleeding, which can be reinjected into the player's site of injury. This speeds up the healing process and reduces inflammation. This once again reduces the amount of time players are out injured for and reduces the pain caused by common injuries like muscle sprains.