Michael Jordan offered his unflinching thoughts on NBA players taking games off for “load management” in his latest appearance on NBC’s coverage of the league Tuesday night.
Jordan, appearing for the second time on the “Insights to Excellence” segment, aired after the Bucks-Knicks broadcast, said he’s not buying the need for players to rest for the sake of rest.
“It shouldn’t be needed, first and foremost,” Jordan said. “You know, I never wanted to miss a game because it was an opportunity to prove — it was something that I felt like, you know, the fans are there that watch me play. I want to impress that guy way up on top who probably worked his ass off to get a ticket or to get money to buy the ticket.”
Jordan played 70-plus games in nearly every season of his career. The only exceptions were his second pro season, when he suffered a broken foot and was held out longer than he wanted as a precaution, and in 1995, when he tried his hand at retirement.
At the height of his popularity, Jordan and the Bulls were a traveling circus and a virtually impossible ticket at home and on the road.
“You have a duty that if they’re wanting to see you and as an entertainer, I want to show, right?” Jordan said. “So if the guys are coming to watch me play, I don’t want to miss that opportunity. Physically, if I can’t do it, then I can’t do it. But physically, if I can do it and I just don’t feel like doing it, that’s a whole different lens.”
Jordan was visibly perturbed discussing other players sitting out during the recording of the documentary “The Last Dance,” a Netflix production that captured the final seasons of the Bulls’ dynasty.
Kobe Bryant, the late Lakers star, shared a similar position on “load management.” He played through injuries and told teammates to rest on days when the team isn’t scheduled to play because “it’s your job to perform.”
