Count Giannis Antetokounmpo as a member of “Team Load Un-Management.”
Unlike the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard — who controversially sat out for rest Wednesday night with Antetokounmpo’s Bucks in town — and his now infamous load management program, Antetokounmpo wants to play every game.
“I can’t speak to what other teams or what other players do. I want to play,” Antetokounmpo told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports of other NBA stars who are on rest programs.
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While he isn’t sitting games out, Antetokounmpo is on a pseudo-rest program, as his playing time has been restricted to just 32.3 minutes per game so far. This reduction in minutes has correlated with an increase in his production this season, posting career-high averages in points, rebounds and assists so far.
“Giannis is so competitive. He wants to be on the court all the time,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. “I think after a year together and fairly early in the season last year, he started to appreciate just how important his body is and how important his health is. There’s a big picture and we want to be playing deep into the playoffs and we need him to be fresh and healthy.”
Still, even if Antetokounmpo might understand the benefits of resting, that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
If it was up to him, Antetokounmpo would take the old-school approach to things.
“If I don’t get my work in, I don’t feel good,” Antetokounmpo went on to tell Haynes. “Like Michael Jordan said, hard work eliminates fear. If you don’t harvest your technique, you don’t feel good. You’re not getting a rhythm.”
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This is an approach that would probably be music to Jordan’s ears. The Charlotte Hornets owner used to say to his players “you’re paid to play 82 games.”
Antwtokounmpo is a player that likely wants to play 82 games. In this load-management era we live in, however, the likelihood of that is probably slim.
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