With the Lakers off to a league-best 7-1 start, led by the performance of LeBron James, the team’s superstar has no plans to miss games if he’s healthy, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.
“If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not, I’m playing,” James said to ESPN after L.A.’s Lakers’ 95-80 victory against the Heat Friday night. “That’s what has always been my motto.”
James, who will turn 35 in December, is in the midst of another characteristically strong season. He’s averaging 26.1 PPG and an NBA-best 11.1 APG for the Western Conference-leading Lakers. However, he is also coming off a season in which he suffered his first major injury, a torn groin that sidelined him for several months.
With fellow California superstar Kawhi Leonard regularly missing games for “load management,” there has been a lot of talk this fall about players sitting games despite being healthy enough to play. The Clippers were, however, fined $50K for providing conflicting statements on Leonard’s health status.
James refused to address Leonard or any other player and their plans to stay healthy for the duration of a season.
“I’m healthy, I play,” he said. “I probably got a good 45 years to not play basketball.”
This load management is ridiculous. I’m fine with plays sitting out a few games but sitting out 20+ is unacceptable. I love Kawhi but he looks like a p…y.
I agree. Somehow the narrative has become that only championships matter. But sports are about competition. Those championships are supposed to be a representation of your ability to compete and win against the best. It certainly weakens it when guys decide to cruise into the playoffs. Especially with how much money they make now compared to the old school guys who used to beat the shit out of each other on the floor lol
Lebron has sat many times in his career despite being healthy.
If they were smart the Lakers would rest him regularly.
I wonder what Karl Malone and John Stockton think about load management.
Pretty sure if it would have helped them win a championship they would have been fine with it.
And if they weren’t they should have been
Why use those two as an example? How about Wilt Chamberlain?
He averaged 45.8 MPG for his entire career, that’s a record that will never be broken. Nor will his single-season record of 48.5 MPG.
You mean 48.5 ppg.
Age 39 Malone played 36 min per game for 81 games. He played 36-40 min per game for 80 plus games consistently. I would love to hear what he has to say.
Props to you LBJ but if you sit out at least 10 games, no complaints!
Good for LBJ! People who have real jobs and have to do real work everyday, whether they want to or not appreciate that, to say the least. If you’re a construction worker with a bad back, knee, shoulder you get up and go to feed the kids, pay the bills, NO EXCUSES…..Post man didn’t feel good today…NO MAIL….What would Karl Malone say to that?
While fanatics of the NBA like myself will watch the two worst teams play…load management is a rip off for the fans who pay to see these guys and to the networks who want to televise the best teams and players.