Kareem Abudl-Jabbar Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sounds off on load management in the NBA

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 3/3/23

Hall of Famer and six-time MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined the likes of fellow NBA legend Charles Barkley in recently criticizing the league's much-discussed load management problem.

Per ClutchPoints, the 75-year-old said that players in the league today "don't know how well they're treated" and added that if he'd flown in charter jets during his career, he could've played "a couple more years."

. @NBAalumni Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on load management:

"I didn't even get to ride in (charter) airplanes, you know, we had to get up at six and five o'clock and go take a commercial flight. Man, you know, these guys don't know how well they're treated, you know? It's a big… https://t.co/RziPAPz2dO pic.twitter.com/Zdfc4hMOzc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 3, 2023

LeBron James recently passed Abdul-Jabbar for first on the NBA's all-time scoring list, but the former UCLA icon still holds the record for most regular season MVPs (six) and is tied with James for the most All-Star berths (19).

Earlier this week, Barkley -- whose first five NBA seasons were Abdul-Jabbar's final five from 1984 to 1989 -- talked with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's "First Take" about load management. Barkley said that while he "loves" commissioner Adam Silver, he believes he's gone "overboard trying to take care of the players."

Last week, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards spoke out on the issue, giving similar criticism to the problem that the late Kobe Bryant did in 2019. Edwards has played in all 64 of Minnesota's contests this season.

In an effort to potentially alleviate concerns, it was reported in February that the NBA and NBPA were considering a rule change that would focus on reducing load management by making regular season awards dependent on a player's number of games played. Talks are reportedly ongoing as two sides continue their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations with a March 31 opt-out deadline for the agreement.

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