A hot-button term in the NBA in recent seasons has been “load management.” What load management means is the practice of players, even stars, sitting out games, not because of any kind of injury, but because they were simply resting to keep their bodies together for the next game.
It’s been a widespread phenomenon in the NBA. It’s most commonly seen in star players coming off injuries who are looking to keep themselves on the court when it matters most, and it most often happens in times when teams are playing in back-to-back games.
Bulls guard Michael Jordan and Suns forward Charles Barkley face off in the 1993 NBA Finals. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In a recent interview on NBC, Jordan sounded off on the idea of load management and compared it to his own experiences as a player.
“It shouldn’t be needed…I never wanted to miss a game, because it was an opportunity to prove. It was something that I felt like, the fans are there to watch me play,” Jordan said (via NBA on NBC). “I want to impress that guy, way up in the top, who probably worked his ass off to get a ticket.”
Michael Jordan on load management:
“It shouldn’t be needed…I never wanted to miss a game, because it was an opportunity to prove…I want to impress that guy, way up in the top, who worked his ass off to come and watch me.”
(h/t @JordanMuse_)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 29, 2025
Jordan brings up a valid point. NBA tickets are expensive and make experiencing a live professional basketball game more and more expensive as the years go on. When fans show up to games expecting not only a competition, but a show, they expect the best players on either team to be a part of that show.
However, from the fan side of things, depriving the crowds of the best possible players in the product of the game hurts the experience. Jordan appears to fall into this latter camp when it comes to considering the objectively correct move versus the entertaining and fulfilling move.
“You have a duty, that if they’re wanting to see you, and as entertainer, you want a show.” Jordan said.
“You play basketball for 2.5 to 3 hours a day. That’s your job. That’s what you get paid to do. What are you doing the other 21 hours?”
— Michael Jordan on load management
(via @NBAonNBC, h/t @Ballislife)pic.twitter.com/RsngA2ndpP
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 29, 2025
The world of sports is inherently a branch of the entertainment industry. Fans show up to games, buy merchandise, and watch athletes in commercials because they want a show. Jordan sees that while winning games is one half of the job, putting on a show for the fans is the other.
“You play basketball for 2.5 to 3 hours a day. That’s your job. That’s what you get paid to do. What are you doing the other 21 hours?” Jordan said.
Basketball is a game being played for the fans, and right now, the product isn’t doing them justice.