In a recent interview with Frank Isola of The Athletic, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant discussed Zion Williamson and the current state of the Lakers. What was particularly interesting was his take on "load management." Load management is a new term that keeps popping up for players who sit out games simply to rest. It’s a vague term that does not exactly explain why the players don't play; nevertheless, it's a growing trend this year. Players like LeBron, Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard somewhat frequently take games off for load management. It makes sense for these organizations and their star players to be careful and do all they can to avoid injury, especially given the common narrative of one minor injury leading to the derailment of an entire season or even career.
However, Bryant, as usual, had his own take on the new practice: “The only time I took a game off is when I couldn’t walk. The thing about taking games off is your games, your seasons in your career go by really, really quickly. So, you want to make sure you don’t miss any of those moments," Bryant said. “The other part about that is there are kids in the crowd and families in the crowd ... This will be the only time they get a chance to see you. They save up their hard-earned money to watch you perform. So, if you can walk and perform, get there and perform.”
It’s unsurprising that Kobe, known for his legendary drive, doesn’t love the idea of taking games off for the purpose of rest, but he isn’t the only person who feels this way. Many fans and radio personalities come after players for taking the time off, making similar arguments to Bryant's. The problem is that all of the arguments and criticism surrounding load management always rest on whether or not the player should be vilified for his decision not to play. Yet none of these players or organizations would even be faced with this decision if it wasn’t for the NBA overloading the season with far more games than any player should reasonably be expected to play.
If the decision is between taking a few games off and disappointing a few fans or greatly increasing your risk of an injury that could potentially impact your career and life for years to come, any person would choose to take a couple games off. You typically aren’t concerned with the kids in the crowd when they're weighed against your entire livelihood and passion. However, players are seen as being in the wrong for making a choice that any logical person would make while keeping their futures in mind.
Players shouldn’t be blamed for a choice that they are forced into by the league’s scheduling. The NBA has done a good job of trying to cut down on back-to-back games for teams; however, they need to continue working to decrease the number of games each year if they don't want load management to appear more and more in the spotlight.
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