has made a new rule targeting superstars.
According to NBA insider Shams Canary, the league’s governing body issued a policy on Thursday morning (ET) that, starting this season, teams will not be allowed to rest two star players at once per game. Teams that violate the rule will be fined.
The definition of a star player is someone who has been named to the All-NBA team or All-Star roster in the last three seasons. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), LeBron James and Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), and Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors) are among the 49 players on the list.
Each team will be fined $100,000 ($132.8 million) for a first offense and $250,000 ($332 million) for a second offense. Each subsequent violation will be fined $1 million more than the previous one.
The NBA will play 82 regular-season games in the 2023-24 season from Oct. 25 through April 20 of next year. There are exceptions to the policy, including injuries, personal reasons, and pre-approved restrictions on back-to-back games based on injury history.
“This is a view shared by everyone in the league,” 굿모닝토토 NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, emphasizing that the new rule has been on the table for some time.
“I think we’re moving away from that, especially with our younger, healthier players,” he said, adding, “I don’t see any statistical data that shows that players are more likely to get injured as the season goes on or as they play back-to-back games.”
“It’s not a CBA (collective bargaining agreement), so it’s the team that gets fined for violating it, not the player,” explained ESPN’s Bobby Marx.
“The main concern centers on what happens when a team determines that a popular player is healthy enough to play back-to-back games, but that player is sick and needs rest,” he said, noting that the provision relates to load management (managing playing time to protect players and keep them healthy).
It also raises concerns that it “may be inconsistent with the use of sports science, which is supposed to check players’ physical condition.”
As such, NBA teams will be working to adapt to the new policy.