The National Basketball Association (NBA) has begun fighting the "load management" practice that is common around the league, wherein teams rest their healthy players on certain games to ease the physical load on their bodies during the grueling 82-game regular season.
The NBA Competition Committee is pushing for stricter measures on resting players for national television games and multiple stars together in the same games, according to league insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Some of the new rules include a ban for teams from resting two of their star players at the same game, healthy star players must be available for national television and in-season tournament games, and there must be a balance between one-game absences on home and road games (absence on home games are preferred).
Teams are also refrained from long-term shutdown of star players, and healthy players who are resting must be present and visible for the fans to see.
The league's Board of Governors is expected to vote regarding the new guidelines on Wednesday.
Who are the stars?
The new policy defines "star players" as those who have made an All-Star or All-NBA team for the past three seasons.
Teams who violate the policy will be imposed a $100,000 fine on the first offense, $250,000 on the second, and $1 million for any additional penalty going forward.
In addition to this proposed policy, the league's new collective bargaining agreement requires a player to play 65 regular season games to be eligible for postseason awards.
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