LeBron James, the basketball legend famed for his amazing stamina, has recently suffered a string of injuries. This has prompted concerns about his long-term health. James has been a model of consistency and endurance during his stellar 20-year NBA career. However, as he faces the rigors of his 21st season, it’s worth looking back at his injury history and the importance of his recent setbacks.

Recently, after the new rules of resting have been introduced in the NBA, fans are trolling James. Again, the comparison between James and Jordan has begun, but this time the debate is very one-sided.

LeBron James missed numerous matches

The statistics underlying LeBron’s endurance are simply mind-boggling. He has almost 62,000 minutes of playing experience (including regular season and playoffs) since joining the league in 2003. Interestingly, James-led teams have entered the NBA Playoffs 16 times, and he has reached the NBA Finals 10 times—never missing a postseason game. However, in the 2018-19 season, he missed over 10 games for the first time in his career, 27 to be exact, and then his missing matches became a common thing.

Given his previous injury history, this level of performance he can deliver is astounding. And in the 2020-2021 season, he suffered his most prominent setback with a high ankle sprain. That kept him out for 37 games and derailed both his and the Lakers’ seasons. In the 2021-2022 season, he was rested for some matches to get himself recovered fully. He missed 26 matches that season. And the following season James got injured and missed 25 matches. Due to this, Anthony Davis had to take his role and be the dominating force of the Lakers.

But now the NBA has implemented new restrictions to discourage teams from sitting key players during regular-season games when there is no particular ailment designation. These restrictions apply when numerous stars are out of the game at the same time. Or even when players are rested for nationally broadcast games.

The sanctions for breaking these laws begin at $100,000 for the first violation. Then they climb to $250,000 for the second offense and increase by $1 million for each subsequent infraction. After seeing these new rules, fans said it would be very tough for James, George, and Leonard and compared them with Michael Jordan.

After the new rules implication, fans reminisce Jordan

When these new rules were being announced, fans were quick to criticize players like LeBron James, Paul George, etc. Because these players have not played many games yet, they get paid in full for them. They rushed to Instagram to give their take on the players and the new rules.

A fan compared them with the legend Michael Jordan and wrote, “MJ never sat no damn game. Nba softer than a loaf of bread“. Another fan showed respect for the players in the Jordan era. They wrote, “About time!!! MFers out here talking “the players today would kill the 90s players”…you mean in between potty, ouchie and sleepy time breaks??? Get real“.

One more fan commented in favor of Jordan. He said, “They’re not stars if they need to rest 24/7, if Magic, MJ and Bird still played in todays game, I’d give them that, but this ain’t a league where you come get the bag and sit for 2 months because you have a stinger in your finger“. Another Jordan fan wrote, “MJ would never“.

With the application of the new rules, some fans are happy while some think it does not make sense. Nevertheless, the NBA has passed this rule for the fans so that when they buy a ticket to watch a particular star; they get to see him play and not rest.

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