iphone6_6plus_newSan Antonio Spurs player Matt Bonner recently revealed in an interview with Concord Monitor (via Yahoo) that he suffered from tennis elbow during the 2014-2015 NBA season, a condition that he theorized was caused by Apple's larger-screened iPhones and led to a lower-than-normal 3-point shot success rate.

"Everybody is going to find this hilarious, but here's my theory on how I got it," he said. "When the new iPhone came out it was way bigger than the last one, and I think because I got that new phone it was a strain to use it, you have to stretch further to hit the buttons, and I honestly think that's how I ended up developing it."

According to Bonner, his two-and-a-half months of tennis elbow made it so painful for him to shoot that he'd "almost be cringing" before catching the ball. He spoke to a Spurs strength and conditioning coach, who reported suffering from a similar injury after spending time playing a game on a larger-screened iPhone.

Tennis elbow is attributed to any activity involving the repetitive use of the muscles in the forearm, causing muscles and tendons to be damaged from excessive use and leading to pain and inflammation in the elbow. A quick Google search suggests that tennis elbow caused by iPhone is not a common condition, but a few others have complained about similar iPhone-related stress injuries over the years.

It's not entirely clear if Bonner was making a tongue-in-cheek joke when he gave the tidbit of info to the Concord Monitor, but at 6'10" tall, it's a bit difficult to believe he would have trouble using the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus or the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, even one-handed. As iMore points out, there's likely another cause for his elbow issues.

Top Rated Comments

Saucesome2000 Avatar
128 months ago
What a little bitch.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
128 months ago
At least he can use HealthKit to monitor his recovery from this terrible iPhone-induced affliction.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
parseckadet Avatar
128 months ago
You're holding it wrong.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zxxv Avatar
128 months ago
I don't buy it. Here's what I think happened.

Hmm, this new iPhone screen is pretty amazing. Everything looks so much bigger and clearer. I wonder what porn looks like. Oh it looks real nice.
And that's how I think he got tennis elbow.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Goff Avatar
128 months ago
I do hope he's joking.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous2k Avatar
128 months ago
What happened to the NBA?
Money…. Elite-ism and a perspective of not expendable…. A far cry from the "street-ball" days….

NBA players are just example of how far humanity has fallen.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iphone 17 pro majin bu sky blue

iPhone 17 Pro Allegedly Coming in Sky Blue Color Used for MacBook Air

Tuesday April 22, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu. Concept mockup from Majin Bu Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...