LeBron James on why today's NBA players don't play all 82 games

[ASFN Admin]

One issue the NBA faces today is load management and the mentality that goes along with it. A somewhat related issue is the seemingly higher number of injuries that players have been coming down with in recent years.

This season in particular, a number of players, including multiple members of the Los Angeles Lakers, have dealt with calf injuries. While some have accused today's players of being "softer" than their counterparts from the 1990s, others have pointed out how much faster-paced today's game is, as well as the increased number of 3-point shots, as the reasons for more overuse injuries.

LeBron James, on his "Mind the Game" podcast, said that today's NBA players don't play all 82 regular-season games for the latter reason — the game is simply too physically demanding in terms of pace and speed for them to hold up.

“The game is different. I want people to understand and our fans to understand that playing 82 games in the '80s and '90s is not the same as playing 82 games in the 2020s. It’s just not. The way we play, the level of pace, the level of speed we're playing at, it’s a different game now. It's a totally different game. It’s a lot of soft tissue injuries now because of it… when I first came in the league, some of the biggest concern for injuries was like a high ankle sprain… Now you see the new high ankle sprain is the calf. Hopefully we get a handle on that from a medical standpoint, but I just want the fans to understand the game is a little different.”

James, to his credit, has mostly shut down the notion of him sitting out games for rest, even though he's now 41 years of age and in his record 23rd NBA season. After missing the first 14 games of this season due to sciatica, he has missed only three games so far, and he's averaging 22.4 points, six rebounds and 6.7 assists a game.

After missing at least 26 games in all but one of his first five seasons with the Lakers, James played in 70 regular-season games last season and 71 the season prior to that.

Guard Austin Reaves, who has been putting up superstar-type numbers, has been out for the last month with a gastrocnemius strain. Coach JJ Redick said last week that Reaves should return by the end of the Lakers' current eight-game road trip, which ends next Tuesday, Feb. 3, versus the Brooklyn Nets.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James on why today's NBA players don't play all 82 games

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