NBA Load management has been a controversial topic for several seasons. Injury-prone and older players, such as Stephen Curry and LeBron James, often sit out one half of back-to-back games to be as healthy as possible for an 82-game campaign.

However, their rest and recovery come at the expense of fans who paid money to watch their favorite players.

NBA Analyst Roasts LeBron James and Stephen Curry for Early Season Rests

Kevin O’Connor hosted an episode of his podcast, “The Kevin O’Connor Show,” on Oct. 26 with Slightly Biased, a popular NBA content creator. They talked about James and Curry sitting for their respective games on October 24.

“LeBron James and Stephen Curry, I know they’re old … I’d imagine on a Saturday weekend, there’s a lot of parents bringing their kids to their first NBA game. You shouldn’t feel, on opening week of the season, that there’s any threat of a player just resting. Can’t we just have minutes restrictions instead?” said O’Connor.

Curry turns 39 on March 14. He played only 43 games in the 2025-26 campaign because of patellofemoral pain syndrome and a bone bruise in his right knee. He also suffered a leg injury in preseason. Golden State rested Curry on the second night of its first back-to-back, with the 38-year-old coming off a season heavily affected by a right knee condition.

However, to O’Connor’s point, there may have been fans in Mortgage Matchup Center who went to the game to watch the 12-time All-Star. They may not get that opportunity again. Golden State also fellto 0-3 on the young season, as the Phoenix Suns took a 131-122 victory.

James sat out of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks due to a back issue. The team listed him as questionable heading into the contest, but it was certainly not surprising that he sat out. The 76ers said they would be cautious with him and Joel Embiid to begin the season.

James signed a two-year, $8 million contract with Philadelphia this summer and announced it was his “last decision.” The 22-time All-Star could retire after this season. Many fans likely want to see the superstar play one final time, but load management might prevent it.

Slightly Biased talked about the Dallas Mavericks’ October 24 home opener against the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas fell 106-122 and rested Kyrie Irving in the second half of the back-to-back due to left knee injury management. He tore his ACL on March 3, 2025.

Slightly Biased was disgusted by the situation and agreed with O’Connor’s stance.

“The whole lead-up to the Mavs’ home opener was Kyrie Irving’s return. He hasn’t played at home in a regular-season game in 16 months. They had a Kyrie cam scheduled on the broadcast … We’re punting games, basically, not even a full week into the season,” commented Biased.

Teams will continue to prioritize winning a championship and keeping their players healthy, even if it comes at the cost of fans’ entertainment.