HOME > Basketball

62-year-old Jordan responded to the rotation: I don’t want to miss any games. Playing is the reason why you get paid.

3:52pm, 29 October 2025【Basketball】

On October 29, 62-year-old Michael Jordan's remarks sparked heated discussions. He talked about the topic of resting in the second episode of "MJ: Insights to Excellence" and said bluntly: I don't want to miss any games. The fans are here to watch me play.

Talking about the topic of rest in today's league, Jordan said that "entertaining" the fans who spent their hard-earned money to watch him play, or shutting up those fans who said bad things about him in the arena, is his motivation to play, and it is also the reason why he never "load management".

Jordan said: First of all, this should never have happened. I never want to miss a game because it's a chance to prove myself. I wanted to impress those fans sitting at the top, who might have fought tooth and nail to get a ticket, who might be yelling at me or calling me names, and I wanted to shut them up. As a performer, it's my responsibility to show what I'm capable of if they want to see you.

continued: Physically, if I can't do it, then I can't do it. Physically, if I can do it but I don't want to, that's a completely different situation... I want to play, I want to win, I want to make a difference. I always felt that if I could play, I had to lead my teammates on the court. That was a crucial G5. I have to play no matter what, even if it's just a cover. But once I get on the court, you never know how you're going to give it your all. You never know what's going to happen, right? Then the emotion, the situation, the needs of the team, all those factors made me decide: ‘I’m going to give my best. '

In Game 5 of the 1997 Finals, Jordan played 44 minutes and 17 seconds despite being sick, shooting 13 of 27, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 10 of 12 free throws, scoring 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. This is the famous Jordan Flu battle in history.

then said: Back to the load management you just mentioned: you play basketball for 2-3 hours every day. That's your job, that's what you do as an NBA player and that's what you get paid to do. So what do you do with the remaining 21 hours? You should use this time to prepare for the next day’s work, your next challenge. I'm not someone you can follow, but you should reflect on what load management really means.

Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA and played a total of 1,072 regular season games. Among them, he played in at least 80 games in 12 seasons, played in 82 games in 9 seasons, and played the entire season in the last year of his career at the age of 39.

Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game in his career. He was selected to the All-Star 14 times, led 10 scoring champions and 3 steals, made 11 All-NBA teams, 9 All-Defensive teams, won 5 regular season MVPs, 6 championships and 6 Finals MVPs.

Mini-game recommendations:Scientist girl escape