If you ask anyone in or around the NBA what the biggest problem facing the league is, many of them will say load management. It’s an issue that’s been a topic of discussion around the NBA for years and resurfaces every time a team rests star players. The league has attempted to address this problem by limiting the number of back-to-back games, particularly before nationally televised matchups, to ensure that the league’s biggest stars are playing in marquee games. However, this approach has not completely solved the issue.
Now, the NBA has introduced stricter penalties for teams that choose to rest players in certain situations. The league’s Board of Governors has approved a new player participation policy that will result in hefty fines for teams that sit star players in nationally televised games, in-season tournament games, or for extended periods during the regular season. The policy will be enforced starting from the 2023-24 season.
Under this policy, “star” players are defined as those who have made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons. There will be escalating fines for each violation of the policy:
- $100,000 for the first violation
- $250,000 for the second violation
- $1 million more than the previous fine for any subsequent violation (e.g., $1.25 million for the third violation, $2.25 million for the fourth, etc.)
If a star player misses a nationally televised game, an in-season tournament game, or if multiple star players are absent from the same game, the NBA can automatically investigate their availability. Additionally, inconsistent public statements about a star player’s availability can trigger an investigation, according to ESPN.
However, there are exceptions to the rules. Teams can seek approval from the NBA to rest a star player who is 35 years or older on opening night, has played a certain number of regular-season minutes, or has a combination of regular-season and playoff games. Certain players, such as Mike Conley, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and LeBron James, meet these criteria. Teams can also seek permission to rest a star player due to a previous injury. For example, the Clippers could request to sit Kawhi Leonard during back-to-back games as he recovers from a torn meniscus.
In the league’s perspective, teams have become too cautious about managing their players’ workload during the regular season. NBA commissioner Adam Silver intends to address this issue.
“If you’re a healthy player in this league, the expectation is that you’re going to play,” Silver said in a press conference on Wednesday. “This is an acknowledgment that it has gotten a bit too far,” he added.
It remains to be seen how teams and players will respond to these new regulations, but it is clear that the NBA is determined to prevent its top talent from sitting out games, particularly those that are nationally televised.
