User:Brandonharrington16/NBA Load Management

Origin
The term “load management” in the National Basketball Association was popularized by the San Antonio Spurs under Head Coach Greg Popovic h. Load management was created to give marquee players a chance to rest during the regular season given their high usage in games.

Analytics Behind Load Management
With the integration of analytics in sports, NBA teams have created their own analytical departments. While they analyze the effectiveness of different approaches of play, they have also researched how to get the most out of each player. With load management, there are a variety of factors the team monitors. These factors include exerted effort in practice, individual workouts, cardio work, warm-ups, recovery regimes, travel and lack of sleep. One team that has embraced this approach is the Los Angeles Clippers. Having acquired former San Antonio Spur and Toronto Raptor Forward Kawhi Leonard, they have kept full communication with him on his physical state leading up to the NBA playoffs. Leonard is an advocate of load management having received the treatment during his tenure with both the Spurs and the Raptors. His ability to compete at the highest level and bring Toronto a championship in the 2018-2019 NBA season has influenced teams into applying similar treatment with their star players during the regular season.

The League's Stance
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver created a resting policy in 2017 to avoid controversial sitting of star players. This policy prohibits teams from resting high profile players during nationally televised games. In February of 2020, the Minnesota Timberwolves were fined $25,000 for resting star guard D'Angelo Russell. In November of 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers were fined because Head Coach Doc Rivers made comments on Kawhi's health contradicting the decision to have him rest during a nationally televised game. These actions are in attempt to protect the competitive nature of the regular season and secure consistent ratings.