Why NBA Stars Are Sitting Inside Hyperbaric Chambers

When the Lakers' playoff run ended in a sweep, one detail in the coverage caught the wellness world's attention. Austin Reaves had reportedly used a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for close to four weeks, trying to recover from a Grade 2 oblique tear in time to be useful in the postseason. His medical team had set a four-to-six-week return window, and Reaves was back on the floor for Game 5, right at the front end of that timeline. Luka Doncic mentioned the same therapy in his own recovery. LeBron James has talked about hyperbaric exposure as part of his stack for years.

For anyone wondering what hyperbaric oxygen therapy actually does and why elite athletes keep reaching for it, the science is more grounded than the headlines make it sound.

What HBOT Is

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing oxygen-enriched air inside a sealed chamber pressurized above normal atmospheric levels. That combination — more oxygen and more pressure — dissolves a much larger volume of oxygen directly into plasma, lymph, and other body fluids than normal breathing can deliver.

That matters because injured tissue is often hypoxic, meaning it is not getting enough oxygen to repair itself efficiently. A bruised muscle, a swollen oblique, a surgical incision, a concussed brain. HBOT changes the oxygen environment that those cells are trying to heal in.

What It May Support

Research suggests HBOT may support recovery through a few overlapping pathways. Higher dissolved oxygen can reach tissue that compromised circulation cannot. It appears to influence the inflammatory cascade in ways that may help the body resolve the response rather than stay stuck in it. Studies have indicated that hyperbaric exposure may support mitochondrial function and, with repeated sessions, the formation of new small blood vessels in areas with chronically reduced perfusion.

Put simply, HBOT is not a shortcut around healing. It is closer to better infrastructure for it.

What This Means for the Rest of Us

You do not have to be in the NBA to be in a recovery situation. A weekend warrior coming back from a soft tissue injury, someone recovering from surgery, an executive whose sleep and stress are eating into how the body repairs itself. The biology is the same.

HBOT is not appropriate for every person or every condition. A real clinical intake exists for a reason. Used in the right context, inside a broader plan, it can be a powerful piece of a recovery stack.

If you live in Lisle, Naperville, Downers Grove, Wheaton, or anywhere across Chicago's western suburbs and you are curious whether HBOT might fit into your own recovery or performance plan, the team at Defiant is happy to talk it through.

Explore our HBOT program, learn about our membership, or book a consultation.