5 Teams the NBA’s new load management rule will impact most
There are five NBA teams that will be impacted the most by the league’s new load management rule.
It’s official, there’s now a new and more strict rule when it comes to load management in the NBA. The new rule that will go into effect during the 2023-24 NBA season is as follows:
"No more than one star player is unavailable for the same game Teams must ensure that star players are available for national TV and in-season tournament games. Teams must maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences for a star player in home games and road games — with a preference for those absences to happen in home games. Teams must refrain from any long-term shutdown — or near shutdown — when a star player stops participating in games or plays in a materially reduced role in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game. Teams must ensure that healthy players resting for a game are present and visible to fans."
In an attempt to crack down on “load management,” which in the eyes of some has been abused by some teams, the NBA is hoping this new rule will help the viewership and overall appeal of the NBA’s regular season. Since this rule is focused on “star” players, not every team in the league will be impacted by this rule.
A “star” player for this rule is defined as a player that has been named an All-Star or named to an All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons. That means 25 teams have a qualified player that fits that description.
As this new rule officially goes into effect this season, we explore the five teams that will be impacted most by this load management adjustment.
Teams that will have to adjust to the new load management rule in the NBA
Dallas Mavericks
In theory, the Dallas Mavericks should not be impacted by the new load management rule all that much but the uncertainty of Kyrie Irving pretty much puts them in a situation where it could apply to them. Of course, for the Mavs, the two players that could be given rest on any given night are Kyrie and Luka Doncic.
That said, Luka is not at the point where the Mavs are resting him all that much and he hasn’t been under a load management program in the past. Kyrie, on the other hand, could very much fall into that category depending on how much he’s going to play during the regular season.
If nothing else, the Mavs are a team to monitor as this new rule becomes implemented this season in the NBA.