Michael Jordan has slammed the NBA’s current crop of players for their ‘load management’ – saying missing games to rest ‘shouldn’t be needed.’
While Jordan was known for his durability during his legendary NBA career, many of the league’s stars have seen their minutes carefully managed in recent years.
In fact, the league mandated last year that players play at least 65 (of 82) games to be eligible for honors like All-NBA teams and MVP.
And while speaking as part of his ‘MJ: Insights to Excellence’ series for NBC, Jordan strongly criticized the concept of load management.
‘Well, it shouldn’t be needed, first and foremost,’ Jordan told Mike Tirico, in a segment that aired earlier this week.
‘You know, I never wanted to miss a game because it was an opportunity to prove. It was something that I felt like the fans are there that watch me play – I want to impress that guy way up on top who probably worked his a** off to get a ticket or to get money to buy the ticket.’
Michael Jordan said load management ‘shouldn’t be needed’ in a newly-released interview
He famously played through suspected food poisoning during the 1997 NBA Finals
Jordan, who played all 82 games in nine seasons throughout his career, continued that he felt a ‘duty’ towards the paying fans coming to watch him play.
‘If the guys are coming to watch me play, I don’t wanna miss that opportunity,’ he said.
He later questioned the need for current NBA players to skip games.
‘You play basketball two-and-a-half hours a day, three hours a day. That’s your job, that’s what you get paid to do as an NBA player,’ he said.
‘What are you doing the other 21 hours? To me, that’s when you should be preparing for your next day of work, or your next challenge.’
Joel Embiid won the MVP in 2022-23 whilst playing just 66 games in the regular season
Jordan also discussed his famous ‘Flu Game’ against the Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals, when he battled through suspected food poisoning and scored 38 points in a famous Game 5 win.
“I was going to find a way to get out there, even if I was a decoy,” Jordan said.
“… Next thing you know, the emotions, the situation, the need of the team. All those things catapulted me to, ‘I’m going to gut this thing out.'”
The last two regular season MVPs have largely eschewed load management, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing in 76 games last year and three-time winner Nikola Jokic playing in 79 games the season prior.
However, Joel Embiid won his first MVP in the 2022-23 season while playing just 66 games in the regular season.
