When four-time champion Robert Parish played in the NBA, there was no such thing as load management. While the idea, which was born in San Antonio as the Spurs managed the twilight years of stars like Tim Duncan, has since become widespread, Parish, who played the most regular season games in NBA history, says he doesn’t like it. Indeed, ridding the NBA of load management is one of the many tweaks a chorus of fans and former players have been suggesting lately. As conversations continue about why early season ratings were down, fixes galore have been suggested. Below, we wanted to share some more ideas from five distinguished NBA vets.
Robert Parish (four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer): Availability. I think that would improve the fans’ appetite for today’s NBA. In my opinion, if today’s generation of players would take better care of themselves, load management would not even be a concern. I know if I was a fan and I was buying a ticket and I waited a month for my favorite player to come to town and they’re not playing because of load management, I would have an attitude.
