"I hate it" - Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan's shared opinion on load management is one of disgust
For Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, load management in the NBA is something that they disapprove as they didn't function like that in their playing days.
On NBC's "The Today Show," Johnson gave his point of view on how he and Michael Jordan look at NBA load management.
"I hate it," Johnson said. "I dislike it. I was just at Michael Jordan's 60th birthday party. He pulled me to the side, and we talked about that for 30 straight minutes. We played every game. We want to play every single game. We couldn't wait to get out there on the court."
With a number of players getting injured in the regular season, especially with untimely ones that happen before the postseason, the load management process makes sense for NBA teams. It's a process that allows them to make sure that their rosters are fully intact and healthy either heading into the playoffs or for prolonging a player's career.
But in the case of Jordan and Johnson, it would be a struggle for management to convince them to sit out games.
In Michael Jordan's career, he only played 18 games during the 1985-86 season, his second, because of a broken foot. During the 1994-95 season, he played only 17 games as he un-retired after playing baseball for one season. He completed a full 82-game season nine times in his career while averaging 38.3 minutes per game.
Magic Johnson, on the other hand, logged 36.7 minutes per game and missed 160 games in the 13 seasons he played.
Michael Jordan's era compared to the NBA today
The league has changed a lot over the years as some analysts have pointed to several factors to determine the source of players getting injured a lot. Some are saying it's because of how the NBA schedules games, while others are discussing that it's because of how much faster the game is played today.
Another factor being considered is how today's players condition themselves. For example, Zion Williamson, who won't even be 23 until July, has missed 214 games in his career. He missed all of last season with a broken foot and every game after Jan. 2 this season with a hamstring injury.
But there are others with the mindset that NBA players during Michael Jordan's era rarely got injured. If they did, they weren't sidelined for a prolonged period of time. It can be allocated to different factors: quality conditioning, the game being played much slower that time and even some luck being in their favor.