The availability of star players during the NBA's regular season has been a hot topic for over a decade now, going all the way back to the uproar over the Spurs resting their stars in Nov. 2012.
For the first time, however, the league appears prepared to take significant action against what has become known as “load management.”
The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved new provisions to punish teams for resting star players in national TV games and in-season tournament games, as well as resting multiple star players in regular season games, according to a Wednesday afternoon report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
On Tuesday, Wojnarowski reported that the proposal called for teams to be fined “$100,000 for first offenses, $250,000 for second offenses and $1 million more than the previous penalty for each additional fine.”
ESPN Source: The NBA Board of Governors has voted to approve new rules strengthening resting policy rules and punishments for star players that include national TV games, in-season tournament games and sitting out multiple All-Stars together in regular season games. https://t.co/uEu5tFdeok
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 13, 2023
ESPN obtained a memo from the league outlining changes designed to increase the visibility of star players, which includes rules against wholesale player shutdowns and stipulations that healthy players must be visible to fans when rested.
Notably, Wojnarowski wrote that the league has defined a "star player" as any player to make an All-NBA or All-Star team in the past three seasons.
The NBA's media rights deal expires after the 2025 season, and the league is reportedly seeking $75 billion for its next one.
