Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray tweeted in response to the current rash of injuries in the NBA playoffs, “the healthiest team will win the championship this year… wow.”

The tweet follows Kawhi Leonard’s likely ACL injury, as reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, but it comes at the end of an NBA playoff run that has seen big injuries to talents such as Joel Embiid, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Mike Conley, and Murray himself.

According to John Gambadro of Arizona Sports, the Western Conference Finalist Phoenix Suns may be missing star point guard Chris Paul after testing positive for COVID-19.

The injury news comes at a critical time for the league, which was hoping to complete this shortened season before the Tokyo Olympics or the 2021-22 NBA season.

Despite the fact that the season only lasted 72 games, the Denver Nuggets were the only team from the 2019-20 NBA Bubble Conference Finalists to advance past the first round. Each of the other teams faced with injuries or simply couldn’t recapture their’mojo’ from the previous season.

This brings us back to Jamal Murray’s tweet. Is the NBA champion this year simply the healthiest? Who will be the final man standing?

According to Jeff Stotts, licensed athletic trainer and owner of the NBA injury/health blog In Street Clothes, it’s only a matter of time before we learn the extent of Kawhi’s ACL injury:

Are the Los Angeles Clippers helpless against the Utah Jazz without their best player? With his own injury troubles, Utah guard Donovan Mitchell is “playing through pain” in this series.

Can the Suns defeat the winner of those two games in the absence of Chris Paul? Cam Payne, the backup guard, may still have a sore nose from Game 4 against Denver…

On the other side of the bracket, the Brooklyn Nets might beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite the absence of Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Can Joel Embiid stay on the court if they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals?

And it’s not just Jamal discussing the injury; LeBron James addressed the matter in his own tweet thread:

“They were all unwilling to listen to me about the start of the season.” I knew exactly what was going to happen. I merely wanted to defend the players’ well-being, which is ultimately the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries aren’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE RIM REST before restarting. Eight or nine ALL-STARS have missed playoff games (the most in league history). This is the nicest time of year for our league and fans, yet we are missing many of our favorite players. It’s completely insane. If there’s one person who understands the body and how it functions all year, it’s ME! I speak for all of our players’ health, and I’m sorry to see so many injuries this time of year. Sorry fans, I wish you were seeing all of your favorite guys right now.”

Before Jamal Murray’s injury, FiveThirtyEight gave the Denver Nuggets a 10 percent probability of winning their first NBA title. It immediately dropped to 4%, and we saw how badly they were trounced by the Phoenix Suns, a totally healthy squad.

Injuries are usually a factor in NBA championship runs and playoffs. This season is different in that it is shorter. Are these injuries in the playoffs a result of the NBA being a physically demanding sport to play? Or are they the effect of increased player load?

Despite the injuries, the team has played some of the finest basketball we have ever seen. Denver’s high-scoring games against Portland, Trae Young’s playoff debut in New York, and, most recently, Kevin Durant’s best game of his career are all examples. And these are only a few examples.

At the end of the day, the NBA is a business, and while it may have made more sense for health reasons to postpone, or even miss, the start of the season, the NBA has emphasized playing games and determining a champion.

According to Fitch Ratings, the NBA’s debt is three times its revenue. Let’s hope the goal of lowering that number doesn’t degrade the on-court product.