(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
For the last few months, there has been a lot of attention surrounding “load management” in the NBA.
This is the practice of players sitting out of games in order to keep them rested and healthy for the whole season.
It has led to some of the most well-known names in the game missing big games because their coaching staff has decided they don’t want to risk hurting or tiring them.
A new stat shared by Legion Hoops, via ESPN, shows just how much time NBA All-Stars have missed over the years, partly because of load management.
Back in the 2002-03 season, All-Stars played an average of 76.9 games.
Today, they are playing 64.5 games.
The difference in 20 years
(h/t @LegionHoops) pic.twitter.com/wL0fhOJZS6
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 20, 2023
To be fair, there are numerous issues why All-Stars are playing less in the 2022-23 season.
Of course, injuries are one of the causes of missed games.
But load management is definitely one of the biggest culprits behind this drop in games played.
The NBA is a league where success is often determined by the number of championship rings that someone has.
That means that teams and players will do whatever they can to last the entire season.
For many, the use of load management isn’t nefarious, it’s just a tool to stay healthy so athletes can make it all the way through the playoffs.
There have been calls for the NBA to do something about load management and the decreased amount of games players participate in.
The league recently announced that players will need to be in at least 65 games to win end-of-season awards.
But will that be enough to bring this surprising average up?
The post Stat Reveals How Load Management Has Affected The NBA appeared first on The Cold Wire.