COMMENTARY: Why load management is ruining the NBA

There are plenty of statistics that are used to define a basketball player’s career: points, assists, rebounds, steals and even technical fouls. However, one statistic has been disproportionately brought up more this season, and it is games played.

This trend has caused a lot of controversy and is referred to as load management. This is a system that some NBA teams are following to preserve their players’ longevity in the league. One of the most notable figures in the modern NBA, Lebron James, has only completed one regular season out of 17 in which he played all 82 games, compared to arguably the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan, who finished nine out of his 15 seasons while playing every game (including his second season in which he was injured).

I will admit that I like Jordan more than James simply because Jordan played more often. That’s that. There was a decent stretch in the 1990s where if you went to see any Chicago Bulls game, M.J. would be playing. I think that is awesome and that is how it should be.

Recently, a stat appeared before a Jan. 8 broadcast of the Utah Jazz v. New York Knicks game and showed the top five streaks for consecutive games played (none of which were All-Stars), which really made me question this whole situation. Why are the best players not playing every game?
The answer is simple: to let them rest to prevent injuries. However, this little aspect of NBA organizations is causing controversy among many fans. If I was a Knicks fan that was going to go to the Knicks vs. Bucks game to see Giannis Antetokounmpo and he was sitting out due to load management, I would feel like I wasted money on that game.

“I am personally not a fan of this trend and I think it is ridiculous,” junior Max Jorgensen said. “If I were to go to an NBA game and my favorite player was sitting out for no reason I would be really upset.”
In the 2018-19 NBA season, Kawhi Leonard only played 60 out of the 82 regular season games. Even though they did win the NBA Championship, from a fan’s perspective, it must be really frustrating for someone who loves Leonard to go to a game and watch him sit out.

This terrible trend of players sitting out of minor games only makes me want to watch NCAA basketball more because I know for a fact that college players won’t sit out to preserve their longevity.