Has the attention on the NBA reached an all-time low?
An interesting conversation happened between two Laker legends and a NBA Hall of Famer on Byron Scott’s Fast Break show via YouTube.
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Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Byron Scott discussed the topic of load management.
It has been a dialogue NBA fans have wanted, especially with the term being a strategy of resting players during the regular season to assure exceptional performance in the playoffs. Fans want to see their favorite players on the court every night and load management prevents it. Supporters of the NBA pay big money for tickets and it seems unfair for them to not consistently watch the players they cheer for.
Johnson and Scott credit load management as the reason for the NBA’s rating dropping as of late.
Scott said viewership has dropped 40 percent and Johnson said load management is hurting the game.
“Michael Jordan played in every game.”
Magic Johnson says NBA stars not playing in games is hurting NBA ratings and calls out today’s NBA stars for not participating in every aspect of All-Star Weekend.
(???? Byron Scott’s Fast Break/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/OXKt3dS9am
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) March 20, 2025
“I turn on a game and the stars are not playing because of load management,” Johnson said. “I was with Michael Jordan, not last summer, but the summer before last … We ran into each other in Europe. He says, ‘Earvin, I don’t know why these guys?’ Because if you look at his record, he almost played every game five to six times throughout his career. He did not miss one game. He played every game.”
Jordan had a foot injury early in his career, but he never wanted to sit down.
Johnson discussed with Scott how about players then relished being on the court. No one wanted to rest, rather, every star desired to play with their teammates. It took coaches or medical staff members to sit guys down if they were hurt or injured.
“It is a difference now, and fans see it and they are reacting to load management,” Johnson said.
“They don’t get to see their stars. One game I tuned into just a couple of weeks ago both stars were out on both teams. That made the game ragged. They have got to do something about this load management.”
Johnson also wants the NBA to improve its All-Star weekend, but load management is first.
Hopefully, more stars will choose to play more so attention returns to the game.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
