With time, load management has become key to elongating careers of players with focus on fitness and energy levels. But oldies aren’t always the biggest fans of this aspect of basketball, with the greatest of them all, Michael Jordan, insisting that he always looked to playing every single game.
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It’s understandable. MJ isn’t the only baller in history to want to play every minute of every game. These players, after all, do what they love for a living and earn millions off it. Most of them, at-least. Shaquille O’Neal recently came out to reveal that he too, wanted an MJ-esque approach to his ball career, which was limited only by his fitness levels.
Shaq was a specimen. He was 7’1″ and weighed around 360 lbs. He was a behemoth. But he wasn’t particularly fit, so to speak, which is why he picked up injuries, which in his opinion, derailed his career slightly.
Addressing Jordan’s comments on load-management, Shaq said on ESPN, “I wanted to play every single game as well, but you know, a lot of times, I had knick-knack injuries, and you know, I was better served to the organization playing at a super high level…”
It’s evident from his comments that Shaq knew that sitting out of a few games would be better for him and his team in the long run. While not at 100%, any player could be a liability, it doesn’t matter how legendary they are. “A lot of times when you get these… it just slows you down… that was not good for anybody.”
That said, Shaq was not going after MJ’s claim. He understood what the Chicago Bulls icon was trying to say, and insisted that it’s not possible to dispute with his claim.
“He wanted to play and he did play a lot of those games,” Shaq added. “His formula worked for him.. but when I get my two games rest and take my anti-inflammatory and come back, like every time I came back from an injury, I was super fresh.”
Jordan, thankfully, was fit enough to not worry too much about managing his load. Up until his mid to late 30s, he barely missed games due to injuries and never had to sit out months like some of the other stars have had to before and since him.
So, easy for MJ. Not so easy for those who aren’t at a level close to his. Shaq was honest about that, irrespective of what it was he wanted.
