In today’s NBA it’s not unusual to have a team’s superstar to sit out one game in which they’re technically not injured. This relatively-new strategy is called “load management” and it’s in precautionary response to the grueling 82 game NBA season filled with multiple back-to-backs, long road trips, and weeks where a team regularly plays 3-4 games.

Though load management ultimately has significant benefits for NBA players, it’s a relatively new option that impacts standings, fans, TV ratings, and the league’s bottom line. And the NBA is still trying to strike the right balance.

What is Load Management in the NBA?

Load management is a team approach employed by NBA franchises to manage the workload of their players, particularly resting their star players that play heavy minutes, over the course of a long and grueling 82-game season.  

The goal of load management is to minimize the risk of injury, extend that player’s playing career, and keep their superstars fresh for the playoffs, which are the most important games of the season.

It’s not just a theory, but load management has been proven to extend a player’s career by reducing the wear and tear on their body, not to mention avoiding injury after back-to-backs that place sore bodies into highly competitive environments.

The Benefits of Load Management

“We have so much more data,” Steve Kerr said about the benefits of load management, “so much more awareness of players’ vulnerability. It’s proven that if guys are banged up, back-to-backs, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games. So that’s why you’re seeing it league wide. Everybody is being cautious when a guy is banged up. You’re just playing the long game.”

NBA players should take advantage of their “load management” days off to balance rest and recovery, essential for maintaining peak performance. Some activities include active recovery exercises, massage or foam rolling for muscle care, cryotherapy or ice baths to reduce soreness and inflammation, and maybe some cannabidiol isolate powder to alleviate any anxiety or pain. Adequate sleep, hydration, and mental relaxation are also crucial components of this strategy, helping players to recuperate physically and mentally between games

Examples of Load Management

One example of load management is resting players during the regular season. Teams will sit their star players for a game or two (or more), even if they are healthy, to give them a break and prevent them from becoming fatigued or injured.  Some cite the first example of load management was during the 2018-19 NBA season. The first time it happened was early in the season. The third game of the season. Before the game on October 20th the Toronto Raptors listed Kawhi Leonard as:

“Out: Rest – Kawhi Leonard, load management.”

This would be the first of several games Leonard would sit out in hope of preserving his health for the playoffs. Altogether, Leonard was inactive for individual games ten times; playing in 60 of the team’s 82 games. Proponents will say it worked. Leonard went on to lead the Raptors to their first NBA championship that season.

It became a point of contention the next season when Leonard – now playing for the Clippers – sat out a nationally televised game at Utah on the first night of a back-to-back.

Another example of load management was during the 2019-2020 season when the Los Angeles Lakers reduced LeBron James’ minutes per game to keep him fresh for the playoffs. And like in Leonard’s case, James went on to win his fourth NBA championship that season.

How Player Empowerment Brought Load Management

In many ways, load management is one of the many changes that has come from this era of player empowerment. The shift in the power dynamic from owners and coaches making all the decisions to a more player-focused league. This allowed for players to not only earn more money, but have more say in how teams are run, where they wanted to play, and their long-term health in their post-playing days.

Of course change always comes with it’s detractors and load management is no different. It has been incredibly controversial on several fronts. Not only do older NBA players mostly-disapprove the tactic, but fans have been bitten on the other side of load management. Imagine saving up money for a Golden State Warriors ticket so you could watch Steph Curry during their one visit to your city; only to have the greatest shooter of all-time scratched from the line-up due to load management. Not only that, with sports betting legal now, NBA betting lines are also severely thrown off when a superstar or three end up resting.

Load management is widespread in today’s NBA. So common is resting your better players that only five players in the 2021-22 played all eighty-two games that season. Those five players were Mikal Bridges (Phoenix), Kevon Looney (Golden State), Deni Avdija (Washington), Saddiq Bey (Detroit), and Dwight Powell (Dallas). 

Per Warriors stat maven Darryl Arata, via ELIAS: Kevon Looney joins 4 others (D Avdija, S Bey, M Bridges, D Powell) in playing all 82 games. 5 is fewest to do so since 82-game season was introduced in 1967. Previous low was 17 (2016-17).

— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) April 11, 2022

To compare, back during the 1988-89 season the Utah Jazz had five players on their roster all play in all 82 games while more recently, the 2010-11 Los Angeles Lakers had six players  get playing time in every game of the season including all their starters (Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum shared starting spots). Due to load management, the players on the list of NBA Iron Men is more 1990s than it is 2020s.

In addition to resting players and reducing their minutes, load management also involves altering a star player’s practice schedule or implementing a specific workout regimen to prevent overexertion and promote recovery. Teams may also use technology such as wearable devices to track a player’s workload and monitor their fatigue levels.

While load management is a controversial topic in the NBA, with some fans and analysts criticizing it as a form of “load manipulation” or “player coddling,” though many coaches and players believe that it is a necessary strategy to preserve the long-term health and performance of star players.

Ultimately, the goal of load management is to ensure that the best players are able to compete at their highest level in the playoffs, when the stakes are highest. Many teams have just come to accept that load management comes with specific players.

If at the end of the day load management contributes to an NBA championship, as it did for Leonard and LeBron, no one will complain too loudly about the 10-12 games that those players didn’t dress.