Don't Expect Suns, Other Teams to Sit Stars This Season
The NBA's regular season is an 82-game gauntlet with very few participants playing close to every single contest. Frequent games within a short time span leave more chance for injury, though some teams in the league are notorious for resting their stars towards the end of the season or on one leg of a back-to-back.
Rest has been categorized as a problem, especially for some of the game's greats. Fans pay good money to see some of the best athletes in the world, and there's a sense of injustice when said player doesn't play when healthy.
The NBA is doing something about it.
According to ESPN NBA insider Bobby Marks:
"The NBA first implemented a player resting policy (PRP) entering the 2017-18 season. Since 2017, teams have been prohibited from resting healthy players for any high-profile and nationally televised game. If a team violated this policy, it would result in a fine of at least $100,000. Also included in the PRP were rules that prohibited teams from resting multiple players or resting players for away games.
"Those rules will now be replaced with a more stringent player participation policy (PPP) that will go into effect at the start of the 2023-24 season.
"Under the policy that is expected to be approved Wednesday, teams must comply with the below rules when deciding to rest a star player (defined as one who has been an All-Star or on an All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons)That's a step in the right direction, and could ultimately deter heavy resting down the stretch of the season for teams such as the Phoenix Suns who flaunt stars such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal."
Load management has been a heavy topic of discussion the past few seasons. If this passes, could we expect to see less of that?
The NBA is also introducing an in-season tournament, which only adds to the games for players.
Truthfully, initial fines of $100k and $250k may not be enough to warrant strict guidelines, though the $1 million and beyond punishments for recurring instances should drive home a point.
