Load management in the NBA is like that one plot hole in your favorite TV show—you notice it, you complain about it, but it’s not going anywhere. The league tried to tackle it by setting a 65-game minimum for awards and All-NBA honors, but let’s be real: that’s like trying to fix a leaky faucet with duct tape. Teams are always going to play it safe with their stars, especially if they’ve got a history of injuries. Can you blame them? Well, Zion Williamson does.
Even if the NBA chopped the season down to 60 games, players would still sit out. Why? Because teams aren’t about to risk their million-dollar investments for a single game in February. Load management is baked into the game. And Zion is a victim according to him. After playing just 13 games, he missed 27 straight from November 8 to January 5 with a hamstring injury. This season, he’s only suited up for one set of back-to-back games—both against the Golden State Warriors on October 29 and 30.
On Thursday, Williamson set the record straight. “Let me make this clear to everybody out there,” he said, per The Athletic’s Will Guillory. “If I could play in the back-to-backs, I would. Physically? Yes, I can. But I work for the Pelicans. They’ve decided, based on the numbers, it’s not smart to do that right now. If that’s what they feel, I’m rocking with them on that.
Williamson has made it clear the $3.05 billion worth New Orleans Pelicans are to be blamed here. Not him. And the fans aren’t happy. They buy tickets, take time out to watch superstars only to see them on the bench. The fans criticized the NBA after this new broke out.
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