Expository Essay On Professional Basketball Players

Should professional basketball players be allowed to take games off is a topic debated by many fans across the globe, but I believe the players should play every game. For Instance, NBA star Kawhi Leonard missed a total of 12 games last year due to what is called “Load Management.” In basketball terms, load management basically means sitting out or rest. But it’s not just him. Other stars have joined in on taking games off as well. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are among the biggest names to sit out. This has became a huge problem that has sparked a debate by many fans of the game. Should these Superstar players be allowed to sit out?

While some believe that players should be allowed to rest, others believe that they should play and that a rule should be put in place by the league to make them play. Some fans believe this for a few reasons. One reason would be that Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James are players that fans look forward to seeing the most. They are the stars and the stars are the ones that the fans pay to see. When they don’t play, it is a huge letdown for the fans. Also, A lot of fans may not have money to attend a game for the rest of the season or perhaps, ever again. What if there is a young boy in the crowd who is very fond of one of these players and has been waiting to see them play forever? What if this is his one and only chance to see his favorite superstar play and that player decides not to play? 

Also, you have to state the obvious. These star players are paid millions of dollars to do a job that requires them to play basketball and entertain the fans with their talents. Regular jobs don’t pay folks nearly as much as sports does. With regular jobs, people can’t take days off because they are tired. These facts must be taken into consideration.  

On the other side of the table, certain fanatics of the game believe that these professional players should be allowed to rest for a few different reasons. One, there is always a chance that a player like LeBron can get injured on any play and if it was serious enough, it could end his season. If that happened, the number of tickets bought to these games would drop. The amount of people tuning into the game on TV would likely not watch. That would cost the league a lot of money. Not only that, but that would cost the team a chance to compete for a championship. But at the same time, the league must understand that fans would still attend games and that the league would still make plenty of money. The fans aren’t just going to boycott the games because LeBron gets injured. While it would cost them a lot of money, LeBron is thankfully, not the only star. Plenty of other stars exist in the NBA and because of that, the league will be just fine. Sports are apart of people’s everyday life. 

In my opinion, I believe making the players play is the way to go. You have to understand that these players are paid millions to do something they love. How many people love to go to work everyday? Not to mention, the players have plenty of time to rest before and after games. Again, I understand that the league would lose money if one of there most talented stars went down, but they must understand that the fans come to see the best players play and that the fans are the ones that make them the money. Besides, it’s not like the league would go broke overnight. Plenty of fans would still tune in for the other star players. For the reasons set fourth above, I hope the league agrees with me and doesn’t let fans continue to be disappointed.