The NBA’s Battle with Load Management and Its Impact on Players and Fans

Changes are coming to the NBA. More than there already are, taking into account that those included in the new collective agreement will be finalized in the 2023-24 season. The debate now focuses on the players, especially their rest. The well-known load management, always in question and exercised intermittently depending on the teams and the stars. The term refers to the minute management carried out by basketball franchises, focusing on those carried out by the most outstanding players in the competition. Although its origin is diffuse, the expression has become increasingly famous thanks to the work and grace of Kawhi Leonard, the clearest example of something that has become increasingly recurrent and that has, like everything, its wave of detractors, as well as characters who lean in favor of it. Especially, in the latter case, when it comes to those who carry it out. The debate, as it could not be otherwise, has transcended public opinion, always dizzy by social networks. And it seems that the NBA has finally spoken openly about the issue.

What is the problem with load management? In addition to the moral position of each one, the fact that some of the best stars in the competition are left out of certain matches affects the spirit of the fans who have spent money to see them and the economic income from the matches televised on prime time. This has made the NBA react, which relies heavily on the publicity associated with its best players and greatly damages the image of the best League in the world. And it opens another debate in a hidden way: the length of the season, 82 games, with constant trips and tours to other conferences, which prevent the players from having adequate rest and being in the best shape for the playoffs and the fight. for the title. This has also caused the most purists or the ancient legends to question the current physical and mental strength and compare it with that of their time, in justification with what they experienced, and receive the answer in the same way, with more or less contempt. , one of the most contemporary. Once again, the constant debate. One that the NBA also lives from.

Everyone has their opinion on when the mess started, but many claim that, although Kawhi has been one of the protagonists in recent years, it was Gregg Popovich who started it. Then, on November 29, 2012, the legendary coach rested Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green in a prime-time game against the Heat that was harmed by the absence of the big stars and had a great previous attraction, with the Florida franchise being the current NBA champion and one of the favorites, along with the Spurs, to play in the Finals that year, something that both did with a victory for Miami (4-3), before repeating the following year with revenge from the Texans (4-1). Without prior notice, medical justifications or any other method to explain his decision, Popovich sat his stars, who were coming from a back to back (games on consecutive days) and received a fine of $250,000 from the NBA, whose commissioner at the time was David Stern.

Now, things are going to change, or so it seems, in this regard. The Competition Committee and Board of Governors are in negotiations to punish the use of load management. Without having officially finalized anything, it seems that there will be sanctions when a team decides to rest two players considered stars in the same game. Star, in this context, is understood as a basketball player who has been part of the Best Quintets or All Star in the last three seasons. In principle, the fines that are being assessed are the following: $100,000 for the first offense, $250,000 for the second, and one million more than the previous fine on successive occasions in which the aforementioned is committed again. Something that can harm teams depending on how, since an absence can always be justified for medical reasons. Beyond that, we only have to know how the situation develops.

From there, we’ll see. How will this affect players who need more recovery time due to age and not an injury (LeBron James, Chris Paul…) or if it will only be in some games and not in all (in principle, will affect the duels that appear on national television), are mere unknowns that we will resolve as time goes by. The Board of Governors will vote on the measure this Wednesday, when we will know more details on the issue. And the consequences may or may not be great. Having the players against you and not having their approval can be negative and the situation of each franchise at the time they decide to give the aforementioned rest could or could not be taken into account. For now, this is what we know: that an official debate has been opened on a controversial situation, which has also been discussed for several years. And there will be decisions to make in the coming days that will affect the North American competition and its members in one way or another. It’s inevitable, of course.

2023-09-12 13:21:11
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