The new rule of a minimum of 65 games on the court for at least 20 minutes for NBA players seeking postseason awards was a success, as expected. Commissioner Adam Silver said this in an interview with Shaun Powell of NBA.com, underlining that athletes are doing everything they can to stay inside. The league saw a “significant” increase in the number of All-Star caliber players playing, which was the intended effect of the new rule. “We don’t want to turn back the clock and put players in a position to play injured, but we have an obligation to our fans that players play as many games as reasonably possible,” Silver said.
“In a league where contracts are fully guaranteed, there is no reduction in salary for a player who does not make the playoffs or plays a reduced number of games, either because he is injured or because rest was appropriate for some of those matches. They get their full salary,” Silver said. “These designations are essentially, in addition to the respect and accolades that come with these designations, there are also financial consequences. And the feeling was that the 65-game limit, playing the 80 % of matches, seemed like a fair cutoff to be eligible.
As a reminder, I think what gets confused in some circles is that we pay a fixed amount of money every year to 450 players. That’s 51% of (basketball-related) income. I think the only appropriate way to judge the effect of this rule is at the end of the season, to see how that money will be distributed. So is it fair to say whether the outcome was fair for everyone involved – including putting the appropriate incentives in place – to decide who gets bonuses and who doesn’t?”
2024-02-13 22:23:22
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