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Team Medical Coverage in the National Basketball Association (NBA)

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Basketball Sports Medicine and Science

Abstract

The medical infrastructure of each franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is comprised of several individuals from a variety of specialties and disciplines. Each member of the medical team functions to optimize the health and performance of these athletes. This chapter describes the basic components of an NBA medical team, the demands of an NBA competition schedule, as well as a brief overview of the mechanism by which injury documentation and player health history communication is conducted throughout the league. Also included in this chapter is a description of the essential elements of providing comprehensive health care in this setting, emergency preparedness measures, and an overview of musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal injuries observed in the NBA. The successful execution of medical care in the NBA environment is predicated upon these overarching principles with the end goal of optimizing player readiness and maximizing performance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Thomas J. Kremen Jr. & David McAllister

  2. David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Grant Schroeder

Authors
  1. Thomas J. Kremen Jr.
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  2. Grant Schroeder
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  3. David McAllister
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas J. Kremen Jr. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine Service, HYMC, Hadera, Israel

    Lior Laver

  2. Department of Orthopedics, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar (MAA) University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Baris Kocaoglu

  3. Midwest Orthopedics at Rush, Chicago, IL, USA

    Brian Cole

  4. The Brooklyn Nets, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Amelia J. H. Arundale

  5. Duke Sports Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Jeffrey Bytomski

  6. Duke Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Annunziato Amendola

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Kremen Jr., T.J., Schroeder, G., McAllister, D. (2020). Team Medical Coverage in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In: Laver, L., Kocaoglu, B., Cole, B., Arundale, A.J.H., Bytomski, J., Amendola, A. (eds) Basketball Sports Medicine and Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-61070-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-61070-1_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-61069-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-61070-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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