The new NBA CBA finally solves the load management problem

NBA

By Andrew Crane

NBA players will need to participate in 65 games in order to qualify for post-season awards such as MVP and All-NBA Team. according to ESPN.

The threshold, included in the new collective agreement between the NBA and the NBA Players Associationwill address load management and scenarios in which star players continue to miss games with a “rest” tag attached to their name on the injury report.

ESPN reported that “the 65-game minimum comes with certain conditions,” but it’s unclear at this point what those caveats are and if they include injuries related to different conditions.

Athleticism reported March 13 that Pelicans guard CJ McCollum and Suns guard Chris Paul spoke about the load management issue during a competition committee meeting.

They explained how this “sometimes comes from teams wanting players to sit either for preservation, to manage the game schedule or to satisfy potential organizational goals for the season,” The Athletic wrote, and there reportedly had shared agreement that the concept could be addressed in the collective agreement.

“We want to make sure we have a system where our best players are incentivized to be on the field,” Silver said in June 2022, according to The Athletic. “At the same time, we obviously don’t want to see them hurt.”

So the key was for both sides to find a balance, and the 65-game minimum will begin with the 2023-24 season – the first season the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

According to The Athletic, only three players in the top 10 for MVP voting (12 players, including three tied for 10th place) have logged more than 68 games: Nikola Jokic, DeMar DeRozan and Jayson Tatum.

Four players on this 2021-22 roster would not qualify under the new rule, such as Steph Curry (8th place, 64 games), Ja Morant (7th place, 57 games), LeBron James (tied for 10th, 56 games) and Kevin. Durant (tied for 10th, 55 games) did not reach the 65-game threshold.

This season, the new rule could have impacted the eligibility of players such as Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo based on their current pace, according to CBS Sports — although that could change depending on how many games the 76ers and Bucks, respectively, play to close out the regular season.

However, not all players follow the same trend.

Knicks star Julius Randle dismissed load management theory and said he has “my own science”, while the Nets’ Mikal Bridges – who arrived from Phoenix at the trade deadline as part of the Durant deal – hasn’t missed a single game throughout his NBA career.

“I’ve put way too much into my body, for me personally to deprive myself of being available for my team,” Randle said in March.

And now the NBA appears to have a system in place for players – and teams – approaching the subject differently.