The debate over load management (the practice of dosing star players even when they are not injured) is still very much alive in the NBA. What began as a medical measure to prevent injuries has become a constant source of controversy between teams, fans and the league itself, which has decided to intervene.
Since the 2023-24 season, the NBA has implemented the Player Participation Policy (PPP), a regulation that seeks to limit the unjustified rest of the most outstanding players. According to this policy, teams may not sit healthy stars (players who have been All-Star or All-NBA in the last three years) in nationally televised or NBA Cup games.
You have a responsibility to the fans who pay to watch you
Commissioner Adam Silver explained when announcing the measure that “this is ultimately for the fans,” adding that “availability is also a part of performance.” The penalties are severe: $100,000 for the first infraction, $250,000 for the second and more than $1 million for each additional infraction.
Michael Jordan was asked about this in an interview with NBC. “Well, it shouldn’t be necessary for some. You know, I never wanted to miss a game because it was an opportunity to show the fans that are there to see me play,” he says.
Jordan, who in nine seasons played all 82 games of the schedule, remembers what his motivation was back then: “I wanted to impress that guy way up there, who probably busted his butt working to get money to buy a ticket.”
For him, basketball is a responsibility to the fans and the team: “You have a responsibility: if people come to watch you play, I don’t want to miss that opportunity. Now, if physically I can’t do it, I can’t do it. But if physically I can and just don’t feel like it, that’s a whole different thing.”
Jordan explains that he always saw the game with three principles: pride in the fans who pay to see you, the need to stay fit and the importance of maintaining team connection, something that can be broken if a player is absent.
“You play basketball two and a half, three hours a day, right? That’s your job. That’s what you’re paid for as an NBA player. What do you do with the other 21 hours?” MJ says.
The famous ‘Flu Game’
In his career, even when injured or sick, he rarely allowed himself to rest. The most famous case was the ‘Flu Game’ in the 1997 Finals against Utah, where he played with a high fever and ended up scoring 38 points.
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