The load management era is here to stay, and Charles Barkley is not having a fun time watching it unfold. The hexagenarian wants NBA commissioner Adam Silver to put his foot down in this regard.
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In Barkley’s defense, load management in this day and age has surpassed all proportions. We regularly see the league’s biggest stars miss out on games due to being rested. Sometimes, this doesn’t even happen on the back or front end of a back-to-back set.
Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played 60+ games in over 6 seasons now. Kevin Durant and LeBron James haven’t faced each other since Christmas 2018. Durant is yet to receive his video tribute at the Chase Center.
All of these phenomena have something or the other to do with injury risk management. Load management is a bane of the NBA game today, and fans are getting the short end of the stick.
Charles Barkley blasts load management, cites how Bill Russell and other greats didn’t sit games during their era
Before they got down to interviewing Ben Affleck on their latest podcast, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson discussed the new CBA rule that makes it mandatory for stars to play 65 games a season to be eligible for the NBA awards like MVP, All-NBA, DPOY etc.
Barkley was quite spirited when he contrasted the hardships faced by older players to this era’s comforts:
“Basketball means a lot to me, I was too stupid to do anything else. I don’t know what it’s like to have a real job. I bless these young guys – whatever y’all do, whatever money y’all make. God Bless You.”
“I made more money than Bill Russell – he was better – Wilt, Kareem, guys like that. But I have a problem with our commissioner having to bribe you guys. When this new deal gets done, y’all are gonna be making $60, 70, 80 million. He has to bribe y’all to play 65 games?”
“We’re not teachers, we’re not firemen, we’re not policemen, we’re not in the armed service, we don’t work at the steel mill. For Adam to have to bribe guys making $20,30,40,50 million a year…it should be at least 70 games in my opinion.”
“You know guys are going to play 65 games in a season now. That’s going to be their regular season.”
NBA Players are playing fewer games than ever
Back-to-backs during the NBA season currently stand at an all-time low. The Lakers only played 12 of those games this season, in comparison to an average of 16 in years before.
Despite this reduced load, All-Star and All-NBA caliber players are getting injured more often. Even though they have access to the best doctors, recovery tech and physiotherapists, these injuries keep recurring.
Iron men like Jayson Tatum, who play 90% of their games on average, are now extremely rare. The only star player of note to play every game this season has been Mikal Bridges.
