The NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday approved a new policy that would prevent teams from resting more than one “star” player in a game and setting forth punishment for violating the measure, The Athletic and ESPN reported.
A star is defined as someone who made an All-Star team or All-NBA team in the past three seasons.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver will address the new policy with reporters at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, per The Athletic.
The new policy also dictates that teams ensure the availability of star players for nationally televised games and in-season tournament games, which will make its debut in 2023-24. Teams must balance games missed on the road vs. home, with the preference leaning toward more home games missed, per the reports.
The penalties for violating the policy are $100,000 for the first, $250,000 for a second, and $1 million more than a previous penalty for subsequent violations.
The policy is a culmination of talks over the past couple of years about cutting down on teams using “load management” to the detriment of fans and the audiences for national TV games, per the report.
For example, the Los Angeles Clippers wouldn’t be able to rest Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the same game.
The NBA has cut down on scheduling back-to-backs in different cities, increasing instances of playing consecutive road games against the same opponent.
–Field Level Media