NBC aired the latest installment of MJ: Insights To Excellence on Tuesday, and it was a fascinating watch. Michael Jordan touched on various topics on it, and at one stage, spoke about the ‘Love of the Game’ clause that existed in his contract during his time with the Chicago Bulls.
“If I was driving with you down the street and I see a basketball game on the side of the road, I can go play in that basketball game, and if I get hurt, my contract is still guaranteed,” Jordan said. “I love the game so much that I would never let someone take the opportunity for me to play the game away from me.
“As opposed to now, where you don’t have it,” Jordan continued. “Players probably don’t play. Now, they get individual attention with their trainer. Go out and shoot 100 shots or 1,000 shots. I found that it was to my benefit was go play basketball, man. That’s what you did. That’s what you grew up doing.”
Jordan stated that his love for the game was the basis of his legendary career. He won six titles, six Finals MVPs, six MVPs, a DPOY, and 10 scoring titles with the Bulls.
All those accomplishments have led to Jordan still being widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. While his talent was a big reason why he had all this success, his passion for the sport helped him push his limits. Basketball was his life, and Jordan wasn’t going to allow anyone to stop him from doing what he loved most. A lot of players nowadays don’t have that luxury, though.
There was certainly a bit of risk involved in Jordan’s approach, but it didn’t end up costing him in any way. A freak injury aside, when he broke the navicular bone in his left foot in 1985, he mostly stayed healthy.
Jordan’s durability and love for the game led to him playing all 82 games in a season nine times in his career. That’s not something we see too many stars do today because of load management.
As one might imagine, it’s not a concept Jordan likes. He made it clear in an earlier installment of the series that he isn’t a fan of load management. Jordan stated he only missed games when it was physically impossible for him to take part in the action. He believes athletes have a responsibility to step out on the court whenever they can.
It’s unlikely things will ever go back to the way they once were, though. To be fair to today’s players, though, they aren’t necessarily the ones asking to sit out. More often than not, it’s the team’s medical staff that makes the call, and they do so because of the way the game is played today.
Jordan’s former Bulls teammate and current Golden State Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, recently spoke about how much more effort the players have to put in, which is leading to more soft tissue injuries. In some ways, load management is a necessary evil.
