The 2026-27 NBA regular season is in full swing, but the Basketball Gods forgot to turn the injury setting off. Unfortunately, a year that many predicted to be one of the most competitive in league history (thanks to the anti-tanking rules put in place and an abundance of strong teams) has already been ravaged by injuries to marquee players.

You never want to see a player go down with an injury, no matter how good or bad they may be. But for these three teams, their star player going down hurts a little bit more.

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

Anthony Edwards has been an All-NBA player for the last few years, but the start of his age-25 season finally looked like the year that he would take the final leap to full-fledged superstar. In four games, he was averaging 33.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 59 percent true shooting. The addition of LaMelo Ball alleviated some of the playmaking burden off Edwards' broad shoulders, and allowed him to manufacture cleaner looks more frequently.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder enduring the season from hell (more on them in a moment), the Timberwolves' offseason bet looked like it was paying off. The top of the West was looking for a new king, and Edwards, who scored 47 points in Monday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, seemed to be peaking at the right time. Everything was starting to go Minnesota's way.

Of course, their string of good fortune didn't last very long. On Tuesday, it was announced that Edwards would be undergoing a procedure in his right knee that will keep him out for two months. Yes, the team still has enough between Ball, Jaden McDaniels, Ayo Dosunmu and Rudy Gobert to stay afloat, but given how good Edwards was playing, this is a crushing blow. Plus, it sounds like even after this cleanup, Edwards will not be out of the woods, with doctors comparing it to the problems Joel Embiid has been dealing with over the years.

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

After spending a whole season recovering from the torn Achilles injury he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton already has another setback to overcome. On Wednesday, it was announced that Haliburton had suffered a hamstring strain that will keep him out for at least two weeks.

Two weeks sounds like chump change in the grand scheme of an 82-game season. However, Haliburton dealt with chronic hamstring issues before the Achilles injury, which will likely make the Indiana Pacers' medical staff extra cautious in this situation.

Last year showed us how desperately the Pacers need Haliburton. They went from one win away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy to one of the worst teams in the league overnight. On top of that, the Pacers are 18.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor this year (per Cleaning the Glass). With how crowded the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be, the Pacers could dig themselves into a real hole without Haliburton.

Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

Like we said, the Thunder have been the unluckiest team in the entire Association this year. Just in the past week, the team was met with the news that they will be without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren for an extended period of time. Williams and Wallace will probably miss the remainder of the season.

The reason we are picking Holmgren for this section, though, is because his skill set is the hardest to replace. Williams' scoring can be replicated by Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain (although his defensive versatility is another story), and Alex Caruso is one of the few perimeter defenders in the league who is more formidable than Wallace.

But Holmgren is one of a handful of players in the NBA who can operate like a guard on offense and a big on defense. This allows him to play alongside other fives (like Isaiah Hartenstein or Aday Mara) while also carrying his own lineups. Jaylin Williams can kind of do these things, but not even close to the degree that Holmgren is capable of. Life comes at you fast, and that is definitely true for this Thunder group.