“Could have played 25 years” - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar takes jab at load management era

In recent years, the term load management has become a buzzword in NBA circles, with many former players speaking out against the trend. During a recent appearance on NBA on TNT, former superstar big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave his thoughts on the matter.

“I could have played 25 to 30 years with load management,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I sit home and think about that. I made a commitment to stay in shape. [After] the season was over, I took off two weeks … I worked on my stamina, worked on my footwork. It was just a challenge every year to try to be the best guy at my position.”

Kareem Adbul-Jabbar's comments are certainly fair, as he endured a 20-year career without the assistance of load management. Over those two decades, the superstar big man participated in 1560 regular-season games, averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per contest.

On top of his regular-season workload, Kareem Adbul-Jabbar also played in 237 postseason contests, where he procured 24.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on a nightly basis.

While there are certainly drawbacks to players sitting out games that they're healthy enough to play, the advantages of load management, especially in the playoffs, are clear.

Any team that is expecting a deep playoff run will want its star players and core rotation guys in the best shape possible. As such, throughout the course of an 82-game season, players are likely to miss certain games - something which has been a legitimate talking point over the past five to 10 years.

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Anthony Edwards discusses load management

During a Feb. 19 press conference, Minnesota Timberwolves rising star Anthony Edwards shared his thoughts on load management.

"If there’s anything I could change anything about the league to make it better, probably just all the guys sitting in resting," Edwards said. "That’s the only thing I probably don’t like. Just play, man. If you 80%, you’ve got to play. I don’t like all the sitting, missing games."

A significant part of the discourse on players who choose to sit out games revolves around how it affects the fans' experience. As NBA tickets continue to rise in cost, there is a certain responsibility on the players to participate in games when they're healthy.

"These people might have enough money to come to one game, you know what I’m saying. That might be the game they come to and you sitting out? I’m trying to take pride in playing every game," Edwards said. "It might be one fan that has never seen me play, and I’m trying to play. That’s the only thing I don’t like, guys just sitting out."

However, as long as the sports science and statistical data favor taking 'load management days,' players sitting out games will continue. After all, an NBA season is long and arduous, involving an absurd amount of travel and disturbed sleep schedules. Fortunately, not every player sees things that way, and hopefully, mediation can be reached in the future.