James Harden and fellow NBA stars could soon be more visible to fans under league’s new rules
- New regulations prevent teams from resting more than one star player in a game, with violation penalties stretching into millions of dollars
- Revised policy also demands teams ensure the availability of stars for nationally televised games and the new in-season tournament
The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved a new policy, called the Player Participation Policy (PPP), preventing teams from resting more than one “star” player in a game and setting forth punishment for violating the measure.
A star is defined as someone who made an All-Star team or All-NBA team in the past three seasons. The PPP replaces the Player Resting Policy and will be implemented for the 2023-24 season.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said executive vice-president of basketball operations Joe Dumars led the “reset on the issue” under discussion for the past year.
“It’s a shared view by everyone in the league – it’s not just coming from the league office,” Silver said. “There’s an acknowledgement across the league that we need to return to that principle. It’s an 82-game league … If you’re a healthy player in this league, you’re expected to play.”
Silver said the policy, in its initial phase, is meant to diminish egregious examples of resting or sitting out in the name of “load management” without understanding.
The new policy also dictates that teams ensure the availability of star players for nationally televised games and for the in-season tournament, which will make its debut in 2023-24. Teams must balance games missed on the road v home, with the preference leaning toward more home games missed, per media reports.