Former New York Knicks starter Enes Freedom, now a political activist, has added his voice to the ongoing debate surrounding load management in the NBA.
During an interview with Pete Hegseth on “Fox & Friends,” Freedom shared his strong opinions against the practice, which has become more popular in the last ten years.
“This new generation of players I think is becoming too soft. Back in the day, we’d never heard of load management.”
– Enes Freedom
(Via @foxnews) pic.twitter.com/ZVrxteKfuX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 18, 2023
“Fans are paying thousands of dollars to come and watch their favorite player. Fans are literally traveling across the country to watch their idol. But this new generation of players (is) becoming, I think, too soft every day,” Freedom, formerly known as Enes Kanter, stated. “Back in the day, we had never seen or heard of load management. But now, almost every star player (is) taking days, and sometimes weeks, off.”
“I don’t think they have a winning mentality if they are taking load management. They get a splinter on their finger and they take weeks off. It’s interesting.”
“This new generation of players I think is becoming too soft. Back in the day, we’d never heard of load management.”
Enes Freedom on how the NBA has changed 😯
(via @FoxNews)pic.twitter.com/b6dlqhTwVi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 17, 2023
Freedom recently made remarks following the NBA’s update to its Player Participation Policy, which now includes restrictions on load management. Under the new policy, any healthy player on the roster should be available to play, and teams can rest only one star per game. Additionally, NBA stars are now expected to be available for all nationally televised games and the in-season tournament.
These changes were implemented to ensure that players participate in a minimum of 65 games to be considered for top awards like MVP and DPOY.
"If the science were clearer that players should be resting, we would be favoring it."
NBA Commisioner Adam Silver discusses the Board of Governors' decision-making process behind the new Player Participation Policy. pic.twitter.com/YlDe2nMqBk
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 13, 2023
While the debate over load management continues, there are valid arguments both in favor of it, citing player health and performance in the playoffs, and against it, emphasizing the disappointment of paying fans and its impact on the NBA’s image.
While load management does have its benefits, it also comes with some drawbacks. In a recent discussion, NBA analyst Rick Kamla shared his thoughts on why load management has become a significant issue in the NBA at present.
"What's bad for the NBA is load management"
🏀 @RickKamlaSports doesn’t have a problem with the latest issue in Philadelphia…take a listen ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ljKX8CmAZW
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 15, 2023
“What’s bad for the NBA is load management,” argued Rick Kamla. “When they spend money to see a star, and that star is resting, and their child is crying in the third-row seat that they spent $350 for, that is bad for the NBA.”
