Michael Jordan, widely considered the best player in NBA history, sharply criticized players and teams who practice load management to avoid overwork.

Jordan stated that it “shouldn’t be needed” as players have a duty to perform for fans who pay to see them. He emphasized that sitting out games also robs one of opportunities to prove oneself and entertain, whether against cheering supporters or heckling opponents.

Mike Tirico, hosting a new interview on NBC’s “MJ: Insights to Excellence,” asked the basketball legend his thoughts on load management.

“Well, it shouldn’t be needed, first and foremost,” Jordan said, according to ESPN. “You know, I never wanted to miss a game because it was an opportunity to prove. It was something that I felt like the fans are there that watch me play.”

“I want to impress that guy way up on top who probably worked his [butt] off to get a ticket or to get money to buy the ticket.”

Michael Jordan not a fan of players who don’t play

Even beyond that, Jordan said he used the heckling of opposing fans as motivation to get his butt back on the court. He wanted to shut them up.

“Yeah, because I know he’s probably yelling at me and I want to shut him up,” Jordan said. “You know, he’s calling me all kinds of names. I definitely want to shut him up. … You have a duty that if they’re wanting to see you, and as an entertainer, I want to show. Right?”

Mike has a history of showing a will to get on the court. The “Flu Game” is a significant example.

In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, Jordan, suffering from severe dehydration and flu-like symptoms—later speculated to be food poisoning from a pizza eaten the night before—was bedridden until just 90 minutes before tip-off against the Utah Jazz.

Despite being extremely sick and skipping his usual pre-game routine, Jordan heroically scored 38 points, including a game-winning shot, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 victory that moved his team one win away from their fifth championship.

“I was going to find a way to get out there, even if I was a decoy,” Jordan said. “Well, once I got out there, you never know how – pushing yourself – you never know what happens, right?”

“Next thing you know, the emotions, the situation, the need of the team. All those things catapulted me to, ‘I’m going to gut this thing out.'”

Granted, that was a Finals game, not a random game in November. But the point remains.

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Another NBA legend agrees

Another NBA legend, Allen Iverson, seems to agree with Michael Jordan’s views on load management. The Philadelphia 76ers icon says that even if coaches and team doctors had implemented such measures, there’s no way he would have sat out.

“Can you imagine somebody telling me, ‘We’re going to rest you tonight.’ What do you mean, rest me? It’s a game; I’m not cut from that type of cloth. I’m not built like that. To each his own,” he told the Kelce brothers.

We know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this the guy who refused to practice with his team? Yes, yes, he was. But, Iverson explains, there was nothing that would keep him off the court for a game.

“I’m not knocking anybody. I’m not knocking any organization for the way that they get down. But I just can’t imagine you telling me like, ‘You’re not playing tonight. We’re gonna rest you.’ And I’m like, I mean, you want to bring up the word practice, s—, rest me tomorrow at practice,” he said.

His view on the matter was very similar to Michael Jordan’s

“Don’t rest me when we got a game. And I always used to think about this … I used to always think like somebody, it might be that kid or that person’s only opportunity to see me and I’m not playing,” he explained.