Many NBA players have adopted the load management strategy in recent years, trying to rest after suffering an injury or saving energy for the postseason. Kawhi Leonard became the most famous player that embraced this practice, raising a lot of eyebrows around the league.
However, he wasn’t the only one who took extra care of his body by missing certain games, starting a trend in the NBA. Well, not everybody liked that and other players and coaches thought it was a bad look for the league. Even legends compared eras and stated that it was really difficult to see a player missing a game if they weren’t actually injured.
Moreover, one of the greatest athletes of all time gave his two pennies on this situation, calling out NBA players for resting when they’re fully healthy. Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather recently participated in a Q&A session, where he went off on NBA players for earning a lot of money while not giving their 100% every night (5:47).
“They will play a couple games and take a couple games off,” he said. “That’s not cool. With that type of money, if you’re not hurt, you need to be out there playing ’cause these people pay a lot of money for the NBA players to entertain. And I love the NBA, and I will always support the NBA.”
Just like Floyd, many people have shown their unhappiness with players missing games without a solid reason.
Back in the day, he supported Kyrie Irving for his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine, which made the Brooklyn Nets superstar miss a lot of games during this season. Load management has lost popularity among players, but Floyd hasn’t forgotten about that. Just like him, a lot of fans want players to be on the court if they’re healthy, doing the job they get paid for.
