Michael Jordan Believes Length of Season Fine Just the Way It Is

By Michael Terrill @MichaelTerrill on October 16, 2014

There has been talk about how the NBA should consider shortening the 82-game regular season. Superstars such as LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki have not been shy about their comments in doing so, but a more legendary player disagrees with both of them.

“I love both of those guys, but as an owner who played the game, I loved playing,” Michael Jordan said, according to ESPN. “If I wasn’t playing 82 games, I still would’ve been playing somewhere else because that’s the love for the game I had. As a player, I never thought 82 games was an issue.

“But if that’s what they want to do, we as owners and players can evaluate it and talk about it. But we’d make less money as partners. Are they ready to give up money to play fewer games? That’s the question, because you can’t make the same amount of money playing fewer games.”

Jordan brings up an excellent point in that fewer games will absolutely mean less money for both parties. Of course, players like James do not really have to worry about that considering how much money he makes off the court. At the same time, money is money, and the way taxes are these days players feel they cannot get enough of it. I cannot imagine how less popular players would be fine with taking a chunk out of their paycheck only to play fewer games, which is something that must be considered as well.

It should be noted that because Jordan is the owner of the Charlotte Hornets he is going to do what is in the best interest of the owners, which is continue making the most money possible. At the same time, he is also a player who consistently stayed healthy and played the game at a high level, which means he is well aware that playing 82 games is achievable.

The league experimenting with a 44-minute game may seem alarming, but the reality is I cannot foresee a situation in which the time of game or length of season gets shortened.