Grant Hill wishes he listened to his body more: "All of that might have been much different if I had done so"

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Grant Hill was on the cusp of becoming one of the game's greatest until injuries took their toll, making him a major ‘what-if’ player. During his recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, the seven-time All-Star revealed the realization that he took his body for granted during his early playing days.

“We played in a different era, and there's a distinction between being hurt and being injured when we played. Regardless, you were expected to play whether you were hurt or injured. That has changed now. Now, we protect our investment, workload, and rest. Load management is a term that was nonexistent back in the ‘90s, and I don't mind that. I'm one of the old guys that doesn't mind that because I would have benefited if I had a team and an organization looking out for my best interest long-term,” he said.

“I think the one thing [I should've done] was I would have listened to my body. … I didn't listen. I didn't trust my instincts, I didn't trust what my body was telling me, I was listening to the so-called experts, and it really derailed what had a chance to be a really special career and a real special trajectory from my first six years in the NBA,” Grant added.

A tragic career

Coming out of Duke University, Hill instantly emerged as a young superstar who positioned himself to conquer the NBA using his versatility and explosiveness. Grant was so amazing that the majority often hailed him as the next coming of Michael Jordan, and his brilliance was already evident in his rookie year when he led all the players in All-Star voting during the 1994-95 campaign.

However, after enjoying a meteoric rise in his first six seasons, Hill eventually saw a crushing downfall. After he forced himself to play with a left ankle complication during the 2000 Playoffs for the Detroit Pistons, things weren't the same for the 7x All-Star for the remainder of his career.

Grant was misguided by team doctors and pressured by fans and media about faking an injury, so he pushed himself to keep on playing. As a result, the Duke product only appeared in 200 regular-season games across seven seasons for the Orlando Magic. All in all, he underwent 11 major surgeries, including a life-threatening one in 2003 that made him contemplate retiring.

Hill wonders if he only cared more about his body

It was a grinding journey for Grant, but he persevered through the trials and tribulations. The 6'8'' forward enjoyed a rebirth during the second half of his career by embracing a role-player position before retiring with his head held high after the 2012-13 campaign.

“I don't have regrets, I appreciate the struggle. As difficult as it was, I also appreciate coming back from the struggle and being able to play at the end of my career. ... But if I could go back, yes. I would listen to my body, trust my instincts, trust what my body is telling me, and maybe the injuries and all of that might have been much, much different if I had done so,” Hill stated.

Unfortunately, G-Hill failed to seize on his generational talent and ended up as one of basketball’s most tragic stories. He played in the wrong era when load management didn't exist yet. As such, if only that norm had been present around 20 years earlier, Grant would likely have fulfilled his lofty potential in becoming one of the best players in the game.