Why NBA stars are lacking so many video games, and what it means for end-of-season awards

Editor’s observe: An earlier model of this story incorrectly reported that the NBA’s stars have missed 74 p.c of their groups’ video games this season. They have performed in 65 p.c of the video games, lacking 35 p.c. The story has been corrected. Also, extra context was added to clarify that lots of these video games have been missed by gamers out for the yr.

Two years after the NBA’s newest collective bargaining settlement reshaped the salary-cap system — limiting how a lot groups can spend on non-superstars — the deal is drawing criticism from stars.

This time, their frustration facilities on one other provision of the settlement: the 65-game requirement for end-of-season awards, a threshold many stars are at risk of lacking amid a surge of early-season accidents.

Players, together with Tyrese Haliburton, dislike the rule; the Indiana Pacers star known as the brink “stupid” after a observe in January 2024. An individual aware of the National Basketball Players Association’s (NBPA) plans says it can push to cut back the brink within the subsequent CBA, which can come after the 2029-30 season.

NBA stars, outlined by the league as gamers who made an All-Star Game or an All-NBA group within the earlier three seasons, had performed in 583 of a attainable 900 video games this season (65 p.c) coming into play Monday, although that determine consists of 4 gamers with long-term accidents who haven’t performed and wouldn’t have been thought-about for awards whatever the 65-game threshold.

Just greater than a month into the common season, stars reminiscent of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Darius Garland, Ja Morant, Jalen Williams and Zion Williamson have missed vital time. Meanwhile, Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard have but to swimsuit up this season due to damage.

“I would bet this year, it’s probably a combination of a little bit of a fluke, but also teams just being more cautious with their stars,” stated Dr. Brian Schulz, an orthopedic surgeon who works with the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL.

The spate of accidents not solely harms the league’s product on the court docket but in addition undermines the legitimacy of its awards. To qualify for the NBA’s end-of-season honors, a participant should seem in at the very least 65 regular-season video games. Missing greater than 17 video games renders a participant ineligible for Most Valuable Player, All-NBA Teams, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team picks.

Antetokounmpo, Wembanyama, James and others are at risk of lacking the brink.

James, a 23-year veteran who has missed 15 video games, is vulnerable to being left off the All-NBA Team for the primary time since his rookie season. At 40, a part of that might be attributed to his age, however there’s additionally a risk that 21-year-old Wembanyama misses out on the All-Defensive Team regardless of main the league in blocks per recreation by a couple of. With Wembanyama on the court docket, the Spurs’ defensive ranking improves from 117.2 to 105.5 when he’s off.

The NBA launched the brink in 2023 to spice up competitiveness throughout the common season. During CBA negotiations, the league advocated for the brink, whereas the NBPA was hesitant, based on a supply briefed on the matter. The two sides agreed because the NBPA conceded the clause.

In a 57-page report despatched to groups final yr, the league discovered that star gamers within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties missed a mean of round 10 video games per season. That determine rose to 13.9 video games within the 2000s, 17.5 within the 2010s and 23.9 this decade.

The league’s new threshold appeared to work. Last season, star gamers appeared in 81 p.c of regular-season video games, up barely from 79 p.c in 2022 and 76 p.c in 2021, based on Sportico.

“There’s no magic to the 65, but we’re trying to take into account games, of course, that are going to be missed because there are injuries, and maybe occasionally even it’s necessary for a player to rest,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated on the 2023 NBA Finals. “This is something we negotiated with the players’ association. Everybody has an interest in the league putting its best foot forward in a highly competitive regular season.”

We’ve seen the flip aspect of the coin this season. Injuries, significantly calf and hamstring points, are piling up throughout the league. Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated Golden State’s coaching employees believes the damage and tear, pace and the variety of video games gamers are collaborating in are contributing to the rash of accidents.

Schulz tends to agree. Players are faster and stronger than ever, he stated, which may result in extra soft-tissue accidents.

“It’s the toll of the long season, the travel, the pace of the game, which only gets faster, more physical in the playoffs,” Schulz stated. “And I think it’s also (because) these guys are so strong now, that the way that they train is different than how they trained 15 or 20 years ago. They got to be leaner because it’s just a faster game.”

Schulz stated he envisions most gamers are totally conscious of the brink for getting back from damage. Since gamers obtain monetary incentives for awards and All-NBA picks, many may push to play sufficient video games to qualify. Schulz stated a group’s medical employees and gamers usually talk about tips on how to steadiness correct relaxation with the incentives to play.

Whether the 65-game rule elevates or undermines the league’s product might rely on how usually its stars keep wholesome sufficient to fulfill the brink. Through the primary month of the season, the early indicators will not be encouraging.