In the NBA, 2025 might go down as the year of the injured. Nikola Jokic joined that club at the end

MIAMI (AP) — Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton is going to miss the entire season because of the torn Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Boston's Jayson Tatum — who hopes otherwise — might also miss the whole season after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs last spring. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams have all missed big chunks of time this season with various injuries.

And now, Denver's Nikola Jokic is going to miss at least four weeks as well.

Nobody — not even those six All-NBA players from last season — is immune from the injury bug this season. The final day of 2025 is Wednesday and from an NBA health perspective, it might be time to say good riddance to these 12 months. Some of the league's biggest names have dealt with significant injury issues in this calendar year, and in many cases those woes are carrying over into 2026.

“It sucks,” Denver coach David Adelman said after Jokic was hurt.

He's not wrong.

Jokic got hurt Monday night in Miami, on a play with about three seconds left in the first half where he would have been better off just doing nothing. It seemed like he was trying to help a teammate defend a drive, got his foot stepped on in the process, hyperextended his left knee and left Nuggets fans — from Denver to Serbia and all points in between — waiting to hear the team announce the severity of the injury. It wasn't as bad as some might have thought; Jokic should be back in a few weeks, which means tests confirmed there was no serious structural damage.

But in the NBA, when the games basically come every other day on average, even missing just one month could mean missing 15 or more games.

It feels like a ton of guys are hurt. The NBA says the actual numbers say otherwise.

“The data we have so far this season is we have the lowest number of injuries in the last three years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said this month. "I’ll stop there and say, regardless where the level of injuries stands versus prior years, of course the soft tissue injuries concern us. All injuries concern us, for that matter. The most frustrating issue right now, and the one that we have seemingly the least control over, is keeping star players on the floor.

“I think we have made progress," he added. "We’ve made adjustments in scheduling. We’ve made adjustments in the sharing of information among teams. We’ve made adjustments in the care of players.”

All that is true. This is also true: The NBA, even with all its power, can't control luck. Sometimes, a guy gets stepped on and his knee doesn't move the way it's supposed to move.

“Next man up,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said.

That is the phrase heard in probably every locker room in the world when a player gets injured, but the reality is there's no way the Nuggets can replace Jokic because three-time MVPs aren't exactly easy to find.

Here are only some of the big names, the award-candidate-type names, the All-Star-level names who missed a lot of games in 2025, whether it was this season or last or both: Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Paul George, Dallas' Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis, Miami's Tyler Herro, the Los Angeles Clippers' Bradley Beal, Denver’s Aaron Gordon, Atlanta's Trae Young and New Orleans' Zion Williamson. And remember, they only get added to the roster of injured that already includes Haliburton, Tatum, James, Williams, Antetokounmpo and now Jokic.

“It’s frustrating," Silver said. “It’s frustrating for our teams. It’s frustrating for our fans. But I do think we have to be true to what the evidence is as opposed to saying there’s a narrative out there that injuries are up or injuries are up because of scheduling. They’re not. But we continue to slice and dice the data in every way we can, plus we look at qualitative information. People who have been around this game for a long time, what are they seeing? Are players training differently? Are there better techniques out there to keep players healthier?”

It'll be a great day when the NBA and other leagues can get some answers. Maybe some clues will come in 2026.

Around The NBA analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season.

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FILE - Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts after suffering an injury during the first half an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kylie Bridenhagen, File)

Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson reacts after sustaining an injury during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) walks on the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing the Singapore-based operator of a ship and a key employee of making critical decisions that led to the ship crashing into the span and killing six people.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a “preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.”

The indictment names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., based in Chennai, India. Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who was technical superintendent for the Dali container ship, was also charged.

The Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge on March 24, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss.

If the Dali had used the proper fuel supply pumps, according to the indictment, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely get under the bridge. It crashed instead, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes.

“As alleged, the bridge was struck and collapsed because those who were responsible for the ship’s operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety,” said Jimmy Paul, head of the FBI’s Baltimore office.

The companies and Nair are charged with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding and false statements. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.

The Synergy companies are also charged with misdemeanors for the release of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents.

The FBI investigation into the crash focused on the vessel’s operations and whether the crew knew of critical systems issues before leaving port.

The National Transportation Safety Board found last year that two electrical blackouts — one caused by the loose wire and another by problems with a fuel pump — disabled the controls of the huge cargo ship before it crashed into the bridge.

The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. The ship crashed into a supporting column of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m.

Maryland officials estimate it could cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion to replace the bridge, which is expected to be open to traffic in late 2030.

“The altered skyline is a constant reminder of this tragedy,” Paul said.

But the true cost of the collapse was far greater, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. It halted shipping at the Port of Baltimore, disrupted the livelihoods of thousands, rerouted road traffic through communities already bearing disproportionate burdens and triggered economic problems statewide.

The indictment comes on the heels of a settlement in principle between the State of Maryland, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the Singapore-based ship owner, Attorney General Anthony Brown announced in April.

That lawsuit alleged the crash was the result of negligence, mismanagement and the reckless operation of a vessel that was not seaworthy and should never have left port. Plaintiffs include the families of the six construction workers who died, owners of cargo that was on the ship and local governments seeking damages for economic losses. The details of the settlement haven’t been disclosed and some portions of the lawsuit remain unresolved.

The state sought damages on behalf of its agencies for the destruction of the bridge, harm to the Patapsco River and surrounding environment, lost revenues and economic losses to Maryland and its residents.

The settlement does not resolve any claims the state has against the shipbuilder, Hyundai, the attorney general’s office said in April.

The bridge, a longstanding Baltimore landmark, was a vital piece of transportation infrastructure that allowed drivers to easily bypass downtown. The original 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span took five years to build and opened to traffic in 1977.

White reported from Detroit.

FILE - The cargo ship Dali is stuck under part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)