No NBA trend has spread faster than the infamous “load management” routine. In recent years, we have seen more and more stars elect to sit random games and back-to-backs for the sake of preserving health and it has become a highly controversial topic within the community.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is one of the few who disagrees with the practice and even went so far as to blast load management in a recent interview during All-Star weekend.
“All the guys sitting, resting. That’s the only thing I probably don’t like. Just play, man. If you 80%, you gotta play. I don’t like all the sitting, missing games stuff. These people might have enough money to come to one game. And that might be the game they come to and you sitting out.”
"All the guys sitting, resting. That's the only thing I probably don't like. Just play, man. If you 80%, you gotta play. I don't like all the sitting, missing games stuff. These people might have enough money to come to one game. And that might be the game pic.twitter.com/I4FhjPJnmY…
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2023
Load management has an undeniable advantage when it comes to extending durability and reducing the risk of injury for star players. For everyone from LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard to the entire Nuggets’ starting five, skipping games for precautionary reasons has become the new normal.
It’s guys like Edwards, Damian Lillard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo who stand opposed to the idea.
Will The NBA Take A Stand Against Load Management?
There’s not too much the NBA can do to stop load management altogether, but they can find ways to discourage their players from missing games while healthy. From fines to minimum game requirements, many solutions have been talked about to address the dilemma and Adam Silver says it’s an ongoing conversation for the NBA office.
“I don’t want to suggest there’s a magic bullet here. I don’t think it’s just about incentivizing players to play more, that the teams are as much a part of the load management as the players are, because again, I think there’s been a societal shift. Everything’s about winning a championship these days and it’s less, I think in all sports, about how you perform day in and day out. And so it’s a cultural issue as well. (h.t ESPN)
Only time will tell us how this fad changes with time, but it’s going to be a while before we see the extinction of load management.
Nowadays, teams are willing to take extreme measures for the sake of winning a championship and that includes sitting their top guys for an extra breather during the season.
While you can’t blame the teams for taking this approach, it ultimately hurts the fans the most, who pay the premium price for games that may or may not include the stars they came to watch.
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