The “load management” issue has been a burning debate in the NBA for quite some time, which culminated in the most recent CBA stipulating a 65-game rule for individual awards and All-NBA nominations for players. Many NBA fans feel betrayed when they find out their favorite superstars are resting during the games they paid to see. In that wake, New York Knicks star Josh Hart’s words on his NBA duties sound like music to many.
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Knicks’ Head Coach Tim Thibodeau has repeatedly resisted the urge to rest his primary players, often allotting heavy minutes to his starters and directing them to hustle during all parts of the game. The Knicks HC took it a step further when he rested Josh Hart for just 14 minutes during their 4-2 first-round series win against the Sixers.
Coach Thibs has found a gem in Hart who considers playing throughout the game as a part of the job. In 2023, during a post-game interview, the Knicks all-around guard expressed that being an NBA athlete is a privilege and much different from having a regular job.
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Why would he mind two hours of basketball every other night when a lot of people are doing half-a-day shifts on a daily basis for something way less rewarding?
“Our job is to play basketball. You’ve got people who are waking up at 6 AM doing 12-hour shifts. Those guys are tired. For us, we’re playing a game,” Hart told reporters in a post-game interview last year.
These thoughts have resonated with Shaquille O’Neal, who shared a graphic of Hart’s quote on his Instagram story. In his go-to fashion, Shaq didn’t attach any additional text and let the quote speak for itself.
Shaq shares Josh Hart's views on NBA life compared regular work pic.twitter.com/9xiRy4KJzc
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) May 11, 2024
O’Neal has strongly opposed load management in the past. Like Hart, he considers being a pro hoops player a blessing and an opportunity that is afforded to few people. Thus, he expects NBA athletes to do their jobs properly as a lot of fans spend a lot of money to watch them work.
Shaquille O’Neal is not a fan of load management
In a 2022 episode of NBA Today on ESPN, Shaquille O’Neal joined Alonzo Mourning in criticizing the load management issue. As per the big fella, many parents spend their hard-earned money to take their kids to an NBA game. Thus, when a star player is absent from the scene for load management purposes, the fans feel cheated.
He urged NBA athletes to give their all on the basketball floor to honor these fans who are a crucial part of the NBA business.
“On the court, I urge these guys to continue to compete. Take into account that the moms and the dads that pay all that money to watch you perform, give them a great show,” Shaq expressed on NBA Today on ESPN.
The Josh Hart story can become a guiding light for the upcoming generation of grit-and-grind hoopers.
