Injuries are part of the game in professional and collegiate sports and although basketball isn’t as much of a contact sport as say football or even soccer at times, there are still plenty of injuries throughout the NBA season that end up putting playing on the sidelines for the duration of the season.

This season there have already been three big names players to go down for the entire season, two of which in the last week and one recurring injury that has limited the progression of a promising young center in the Portland Trailblazers Greg Oden.

Last two seasons the Blazers have had somewhat of a draft bust in former number one overall pick in Greg Oden out of Ohio State as he missed his entire rookie with a knee injury and then came back last season which resulted in the same outcome of sitting on the bench with yet another season ending injury.

This season the trend continues with Oden as he has gone down for the third time and will most likely sit out the rest of the season.

Along with Oden, the Milwaukee Bucks sharp shooter Michael Redd and this season’s number one overall draft pick in Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will both miss the rest of the season due to knee injuries of their own that will require surgery.

Just like Greg Oden, the Bucks Michael Redd also went down for the season last year with a knee injury and will almost certainly be finished as member of the Milwaukee Bucks as they have been talking about trading the shooting guard for the last two seasons.

The Los Angeles Clippers on the other hand have struggled to find a player through the draft that would be the final piece to the puzzle in their attempt to become a playoff team in the Western Conference once again. Coming into the draft the Clippers had the number one overall pick and had their sights set on the Oklahoma Sooners superstar forward in Blake Griffin and no one could argue with their decision.

Unfortunately, in the preseason, Griffin suffered a broken left kneecap that has kept him out of every regular season game so far. Most people believed he would rebound quick from the injury, but like Oden a couple of seasons ago, Griffin will miss his entire rookie season as his knee will require season ending surgery.