By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Specific requirements and multiple scenarios were presented by the NBA upon the release of the new Player Participation Policy.
The Board of Governors approved the new Player Participation Policy on Wednesday.
The new rules, taking into effect with the start of the 2023-24 Regular Season, require no more than one ‘star player’ to be unavailable for any game of the Regular Season. Players considered ‘star players’ are anyone named on an All-NBA Team or All-Star team over the previous three seasons.
“This is ultimately about the fans,” noted commissioner Adam Silver in a press conference, “This is an acknowledgment that [load management] has gotten away from us a bit.”
Per the press release: “The NBA Board of Governors today approved a new Player Participation Policy, which is intended to promote player participation in the NBA’s regular season. The new policy will take effect with the start of the 2023-24 regular season and enhance and replace the Player Resting Policy, which was implemented prior to the 2017-18 season.
The Player Participation Policy primarily will focus on star players. A star player for purposes of the policy is any player who, in any of the prior three seasons, was selected to an All-NBA Team or an NBA All-Star team. This definition also applies, following a given season’s All-Star Game, to any player who is named an All-Star during that season.
Under the policy, unless a team demonstrates an approved reason for a star player not to participate in a game, then, among other things, the team must:
• Manage its roster to ensure that no more than one star player is unavailable for the same game.
• Ensure that star players are available for all national television and NBA In-Season Tournament games.
• Maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences for a star player in home and road games.
• Refrain from any long-term “shutdowns” in which a star player stops playing games.
• If resting a healthy player, ensure that the player is present at the games and visible to fans.
The policy includes exceptions for injuries, personal reasons and pre-approved back-to-back restrictions based on a player’s age, career workload or serious injury history.”
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