Load management has been a hot topic in the NBA in recent years, but the league appears to have concluded that it is not an effective method of keeping players healthy.
By ESPN Tim BontempsThe NBA released an analysis report this week to teams and select members of the media, revealing that there was “no correlation” between load management and reducing injury risk.
Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said in October that load management had no effect on injury risk, and these results appear to support his statement. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver echoed Dumars’ sentiments during a press conference in December.
The 57-page report was produced by Dr. Christina Mack, epidemiologist and scientific director at IQVIA Injury Surveillance & Analytics. Mack emphasized that the results do not completely rule out the effectiveness of load management.
“We’re not saying it’s better or worse,” Mack said.
The report used league-wide data from the 2013-14 season through 2022-23 to study the relationships between injuries and game attendance frequency, schedule density and cumulative game attendance. NBA. The results indicated that there were none.
“The results of these analyzes do not suggest that missing games to rest or manage load – or having longer breaks between games – reduces the risk of future in-season injuries,” the report states, in bold letters, in its summary. “Additionally, injury rates were not found to be higher during or immediately following periods of busy schedules.”
The report was commissioned last summer amid the ongoing debate over star players missing games. Bontemps noted that star players have missed 23.9 games per season this decade, compared to 10.6 games in the 1990s.
The league has already implemented new rules to try to curb the load management problem, as players who appear in fewer than 65 games this season will not be eligible for MVP or All-NBA honors.
