World-renowned for being one of the fastest-paced professional sports leagues, the NBA demands a lot from its stars. Playing at least 82 games across the 19-week regular season, athletes can expect to sprint over 200 miles up and down the court. That type of intensity can lead to injury, but which arena is the worst offender when it comes to injuries? Which is the most cursed court in the NBA?
To determine the most ‘cursed’ courts, Betting.com have compiled data from NBA databases detailing all reported injuries in the NBA across 2010-2020. Analyzing 25,000 injury reports, we were able to calculate the average number of injury reports per game for each court.
The Most Cursed Courts in the NBA
| Arena | Injuries per Game |
| AT&T Center | 2.60 |
| Kaseya Center | 2.27 |
| Barclays Center | 2.15 |
| Firesev Forum | 2.12 |
| American Airlines Center | 2.12 |
| Scotiabank Arena | 2.11 |
| Toyota Center | 2.05 |
| TD Garden | 2.04 |
| Chase Center | 2.02 |
| Ball Arena | 1.98 |
| Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 1.91 |
| Wells Fargo Center | 1.88 |
| Capital One Arena | 1.87 |
| Madison Square Garden | 1.86 |
| Vivint Arena | 1.84 |
| State Farm Arena | 1.82 |
| Target Center | 1.82 |
| Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 1.80 |
| FedExForum | 1.79 |
| Amway Center | 1.75 |
| Staples Center | 1.74 |
| Golden 1 Center | 1.62 |
| United Center | 1.57 |
| Paycom Center | 1.57 |
| Little Caesars Arena | 1.44 |
| Footprint Center | 1.43 |
| Moda Center | 1.42 |
| Spectrum Center | 1.33 |
| Smoothie King Center | 1.19 |
The 2010s recorded 24,894 injuries reported on game days in the NBA. 2017 was the most injury-hit year, with over 3000 instances of players being put on the injury list. 2 years later they were at a decade low with 2019 seeing just 1900 ballers record injuries.
1. AT&T calling for the medics the most
The AT&T Center, home of the San Antonio Spurs, suffered the worst injury rate in the NBA, with 2.60 players a game falling foul of the curse. The fact San Antonio has been partnered with Methodist Healthcare since 2015, only serves to underline the irony that their home arena is top of the casualty list.
2. Heat facing 2nd most injuries
The Miami Heat, who faced an injury crisis in their 2020 championship challenge, have been struggling with the curse for a while. The Kaseya Center saw 970 injuries across the decade, averaging 2.27 reports a game. The curse could be ending however, with the Heat making a second championship final in four years.
3. Barclays takes bronze on the casualty list
The Nets home court, the Barclays Center, has seen the third-highest rate of injuries, with 2.15 injuries reported per game played in Brooklyn. The Nets arena placed 12 spots higher than New York Rivals the Knicks in the injury frequency list. Their move back to Brooklyn in 2012 has done little to save them from facing a similar situation to their injury-plagued 1990s.
4. Milwaukee’s new arena taking its toll on players
Home of the Bucks since 2018, Firesev Forum has done little to lower the injury risk to players compared to their old home the Bradley Center, with injury rates equal to the old arena. The curse was evident at the end of the 2023 season as injuries piled up as the Bucks entered the postseason, no doubt contributing to their loss to eventual finalists, the Miami Heat.
Pelicans host the safest record in the NBA
The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans is officially the safest in the NBA, with their record of just 1.19 injuries per game as the best by some margin. Their rate is half that of the worst offender, the AT&T Center, suffering 1.41 fewer injuries per game. This will be a small crumb of comfort for Pelicans fans though, as far too often did they lose players to season-long injuries across the decade.
