The Indiana Pacers have successfully forced a Game 7 despite a Tyrese Haliburton calf injury, which he suffered during Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Haliburton isn’t the first star to suffer an injury this postseason. Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics ruptured his Achilles against the New York Knicks. Damian Lillard, too, of the Milwaukee Bucks, suffered the same injury in the first round against the Pacers.
Historically, Achilles tendon injuries have crippled some of the game’s biggest stars: Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, DeMarcus Cousins, and Dejounte Murray, to name a few. While not exactly a career-ending injury, it can very easily change the trajectory of an NBA career.
Achilles injuries are also easily identifiable and can be spotted in the moment, even by non-professionals. Why? Because they all look the same: non-contact and preceded by a step from behind—or in other words, a negative step.
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What is a negative step?
A negative step is a basic basketball move done during drives where the player takes a backward step to generate extra momentum going forward. By placing their foot behind, they are able to muster additional force, pushing them forward and allowing them to explode past a defender and move to the rim.
In turn, this straightens out the leg and puts extensive pressure on the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon.
According to Brian Sutterer MD, a doctor and YouTuber who assesses sports-related injuries: The negative step puts the ankle in dorsiflexion, where the toes are pointed upwards towards the tibia. This puts an eccentric load on the Achilles—or a stretch on the tendon—which puts it at risk of failure when there’s sudden contraction.
But why the Achilles in particular when the calf muscles are also heavily engaged during this move?
While the calf can also be at risk of strain, the Achilles tendon resides in what is commonly referred to as a watershed region. This is the area between the calf muscles and the heel bone and has poor blood supply, making it prone to injury.
Awareness and prevention
Already a severe injury on its own, what makes Achilles tears even more dangerous is how easily they can happen.
The negative step is neither an intentional basketball move that players put to mind, such as the Euro step or a simple spin move, nor is it a high-athleticism movement that would normally put immense strain on the body.
Rather, it’s a subconscious movement everyone does both on and off the court. Whether at the start of your run or even while changing directions in any sport you play, that ankle position is something many of us, athlete or not, are familiar with.
While it takes more to injure yourself off a negative step—after all, athletes endure more wear and tear—stretching your ankles before exercising and being more aware of your movements can reduce the chances of injuries such as that from happening.
