NBA Injuries and Fantasy Basketball Impact: Nikola Jokic, Josh Giddey, Austin Reaves and More

The NBA season has been marred by injuries. So at the end of 2025, let's take a look at some notable injuries, and what it means from a fantasy basketball perspective.

We will focus on long-term injuries, not day-to-day ones.

Fantasy basketball injuries can be tracked all season on FantasySP.

Josh Giddey - Chicago Bulls

Giddey is going to miss a couple weeks with a left hamstring strain. He suffered that injury on Monday.

Giddey leads the Bulls in minutes per game (32.8) so his absence will be a big one. That will put more on the plates of Coby White, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, Isaac Okoro and other guards.

Giddey has averaged 19.2 points, 9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game as well, so that's a lot of production to replace. It will be a team effort to get the job done, so guys like Nikola Vucevic, Matas Buzelis, Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith, Kevin Huerter and others also have the chance to up their averages in certain areas.

Kyrie Irving - Dallas Mavericks

Irving has been out all season after tearing his ACL last season. He still doesn't have a timetable to return, but the original hope was early 2026, which is nearly here.

There's also been rumors that he could return around the All-Star break, which isn't until mid-February, and there's a chance he misses even more time than that.

Whenever Irving comes back, there will be a big shift on the court for Dallas. Right now, Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg are the top fantasy assets on a daily basis. Naji Marshall, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Max Christie are some other notable fantasy assets.

Irving's presence will hurt the fantasy outlooks of every other Maverick, as Irving is capable of leading the squad still. Guys like Marshall, Christie, Brandon Williams and others guards and forwards could see the biggest fantasy drop, as Irving will directly be taking away some of their minutes.

Keep an eye on Irving's status and be ready to move off some other Mavericks as the star gets ready to return. Make sure Irving is added in all leagues as he nears a return.

Nikola Jokic and Cameron Johnson - Denver Nuggets

Jokic went down earlier this week with a knee injury. A hyperextended left knee will keep him out at least four weeks.

Johnson has a right knee contusion that is supposed to keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Those are two big fantasy assets, with Jokic obviously being the best player in the league. His loss is absolutely massive for fantasy owners.

Hopefully you have injured reserve spots to put Jokic and Johnson in. It will be easier to replace Johnson, while being impossible to replace Jokic, unless you trade him.

Now is not a good time to trade either Nugget, as their fantasy values are down. I'd still need an overpay to consider moving Jokic.

Jonas Valanciunas is a player to add to help replace Jokic. Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun should return soon to help fill the massive void left. 

Jamal Murray gets a bump in fantasy value with Jokic out, and Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown and Spencer Jones are some other notable fantasy assets to keep an eye on, as increased playing time could lead to better fantasy production.

Ivica Zubac - Los Angeles Clippers

Zubac has been out for a bit for LA, and he's expected back sometime in mid-January.

He's one of the best players for the Clippers, so his absence definitely hurts. Brook Lopez and John Collins are a couple big men helping fill in for Zubac, and both are pretty solid fantasy assets right now.

James Harden is the top player for LA, with Kawhi Leonard up there too. After those two, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Bogdan Bogdanovic (who hopefully will return soon), Nicolas Batum and Kobe Sanders are other notable parts of the team's rotation. 

Austin Reaves - Los Angeles Lakers

Reaves is out at least four weeks with a left gastrocnemius strain. He has been really good this year, so him being out is a big blow to the Lakers.

They still have Luka Doncic and LeBron James though, so LA should be just fine. The fantasy outlooks for those two vets are up while Reaves is out.

Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia are among the players who will help replace some of the minutes and production Reaves brought on a nightly basis. 

It's worth watching the team's game logs nightly for a bit, to see who else might step up for the time being.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies get listed as a team with Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey, Scotty Pippen Jr., Ty Jerome and others out with injuries right now.

In the meantime, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant will continue to power Memphis. Santi Aldama, Jaylen Wells, Cedric Coward, Cam Spencer, Jock Landale and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are among the other players who will help out.

Memphis is a team to keep watching, especially when players start returning, as the rotation and fantasy values of players will start shifting. Outside Morant and Jackson, the values of everyone else could shift with the return of some of the injured players.

Dejounte Murray - New Orleans Pelicans

Murray hasn't played yet this season, but he could return as 2026 begins. He's been out with an Achilles injury.

Murray's presence would hurt the fantasy outlooks for Jordan Poole, Jeremiah Fears, Jose Alvarado and other guards, while also hurting Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen, Herbert Jones and others.

The team's game logs will be worth watching after Murray returns, to see which players stick as notable rotation members and fantasy assets, and to see which players drop off a bit.

Now is a good time to be adding Murray, if he's still available in your league.

Franz Wagner - Orlando Magic

Wagner is still out for the Magic, and he doesn't have a return timetable. Hopefully you can stash him in an IR spot until he's back.

Desmond Bane and Paolo Banchero will lead the team until Wagner returns. Wendell Carter Jr., Tristan da Silva and Goga Bitadze are some forwards and centers who will replace Wagner's minutes.

Anthony Black, Jalen Suggs and Tyus Jones are some others who could help fill in some of the lost production for a little while. 

Expect several Magic players to be added and dropped until Wagner returns to the mix.

Jalen Green - Phoenix Suns

Green is getting closer to returning to the court, and could be back within the next week or so. He'll be worth adding back before he re-takes the court.

Until then, Devin Booker will lead the Suns. Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Royce O'Neale, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Ryan Dunn are some players who will help out.

Green's presence will affect the fantasy outlooks for several players, so be watching Suns' game logs closely after he returns to see who is worth keeping on fantasy teams, and who is worth moving on from.

Trail Blazers

Portland also gets listed as a team with several players out with injuries.

Damian Lillard is out for the season, but Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant and Kris Murray are among the injured Trail Blazers right now.

That's allowed Deni Avdija to lead the way of late. Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III and more have stepped up.

Those same players could see a decrease in playing time and fantasy value as some of their teammates return to the court, so be ready to move off guys. 

Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine - Sacramento Kings 

Sabonis is out with a knee injury, and not expected back for a couple more weeks yet. LaVine is dealing with an ankle injury, but is a big enough player that he deserves mentioning too.

Keegan Murray has been a nice fantasy asset since returning from an early-season injury of his own. DeMar DeRozan is also still playing a pretty big role.

Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Maxime Raynaud and Malik Monk are among the players helping fill the big void left by Sabonis' injury. 

Sabonis' return will have a huge impact on the rotation and fantasy values for others, so be watching that when it happens.

Jakob Poeltl - Toronto Raptors

Poeltl has missed a little time with a back injury, and is set to miss a bit more. 

His injury is putting more on the plates of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and others. Sandro Mamukelashvili is among the guys directly replacing Poeltl.

It's not a long-term injury concern at this point, so don't alter your views of many Raptors as a result.

Immanuel Quickley and Jamal Shead are among some other players who pick up a little more with Poeltl out of the picture.