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LeBron James is much sturdier than your typical superstar

By ANTHONY BISCIELLO

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up prior to a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on March 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up prior to a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on March 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /
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It has become a thing that we continue to see night after night. Perhaps it has become a bit of a fad. Certain NBA stars will play one night and then sit out the next. Sure, certain players are coming back from injuries and have to watch their minutes but what about the others that aren’t injured? Why are they sitting out one night and not playing? Up until his current ankle injury, you never saw LeBron James fall victim to this fad.

Sure, they may have cut back on some of his minutes, but so what? That didn’t change how great a player he is. So what’s the story for so many others?

How many players come to mind when you think about load management? Look at the great Kawhi Leonard for example. Heck, he is by far one of the best players in all of basketball and we see him sit out games at times and for what exactly?

I mean, it’s not like he is not important for the success of the Los Angeles Clippers, right? He has never even played a full season in all of his professional career.

What about the Kyrie Irving? He’s a very talented player but how many games does he miss and why? It seems like every other night he is not in the lineup. He too has yet to play a full season. That goes for Paul George as well. He has never once played a full NBA season.

Whatever happened to the good ole days when players would play back-to-back nights and never take off? Imagine Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Kobe doing that. LeBron James has only played one full season but that being said, we have seen that he has missed legit time with many injuries and before that happened this year, he was going hard every night and was older than many of the players that sit out night after night.

I wonder how that works exactly especially when it comes down to the fact that they are getting millions of dollars to play a game. Let’s face it, in any other job, they wouldn’t get paid for the games they miss or it would not be tolerated.

This is one of the things that holds LeBron James above many others.

LeBron James wasn’t sitting out despite his age. He knew that his team needed him and that he wanted to win. It is that killer instinct that sets so many players apart. It is why he is so much more valuable to his team than others are to theirs and why he will have success and they will not.

After all, this is what they get paid for, to play! Load management? What about the trucker who drives thousands of miles per day back and forth and gets up the next day and does it again or the person who makes the long commute to and from their job? It’s part of their job right? Shouldn’t that standard go for all regardless?

This taking nights off thing has become increasingly more popular. I often wonder how certain head coaches, general managers and owners feel about this.  I often think of the great Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns or the great Chuck Bednarik from the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Two great warriors who played in a far tougher sport and during a period when it was no holds barred on the football field. Do you think they knew about missing games for load management?

Definitely not Brown or Bednarik, who was the last REAL player to play both ways. He was the Eagles starting center and linebacker. Much love and respect to Concrete Charlie as he was known.

Guys like LeBron Jamesn are smart enough to invest loads of money into their body and take care of themselves properly in order to sustain a long season. That is what you invest in when you get a player of his caliber and the Lakers knew that.

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After all, they want the total package and that is what they got not only from him but Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and several others. It is the great Laker way. It is what makes them the wonderful organization that they are.