<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This, according to Bird, is what most fans don’t realize about the young, seemingly indestructible athletes on the floor. “When you played the way that I played every night, even when I was 25 or 32, I knew that when I tried to play through the pain or some kind of injury that I was going to have to pay for it at some point,” he said. “I could bring up the name of a guy like John Havlicek, and all guys like that will tell you now that when something starts to hurt, it’s all the result of playing through something way back then. “When John Havlicek turned 40 he told me that they actually took a whole wedge out of his knee once, and he can still feel it,” said Bird. “I knew right then that I was going to be feeling it as I got older.”</div> Source <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Though Bird weathered everything from bone chips in his elbow and both heels to a fractured cheekbone, disc trouble was ultimately his undoing. The Celtics became one of the first teams in the league to lease a private charter plane for the simple benefit that Bird could lie down during flights. He often spent games in those later years belly-down on the floor to ease the back pain when on the sideline. ... McHale, who now walks with a noticeable limp, may forever suffer for playing in the 1987 NBA Finals on a broken foot. “Kevin shows the result of it now,” said Bird. “Ihate to watch him walk, but that’s also something you understand is part of the game. What people don’t realize is that we played the equivalent of two full years of playoff basketball. That takes a hard toll on your body.” </div> Source It seems that all the bruises, awkward landings, torn tendons, etc. eventually add up. I wonder how players like Malone and Stockton will age. They played almost every game of every season playing high mpg and made playoffs for like 18 years straight I think.
I mean it also depend on the shape you keep your body in. If you dont get stonger evey season your body will be prone to injury. Bird and kevin were never fond of the weight room. But at the same time some things are unavoidable but some things are preventable.
<div class="quote_poster">WildHundreds113 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I mean it also depend on the shape you keep your body in. If you dont get stonger evey season your body will be prone to injury. Bird and kevin were never fond of the weight room. But at the same time some things are unavoidable but some things are preventable.</div> Excellent point. The current athletes have a lot more resources available to them. The medical techniques surgeons use are more advanced and all the various training and diet regimines enable athletes to heal faster and not suffer the same long term effects these older players have to deal with. A simple example, look at a pair of old school Chuck Taylors and compare it to Nike Air basketball shoe. I can barely walk a mile without the Chuck Taylors starting to hurt my feet, I can't imagine ever playing ball in them.
