How the NBA decides when teams violate its participation policy

The NBA introduced its current Player Participation Policy in 2023 as an overhaul of the old “resting rules.” The goal is simple. The league wants star players on the floor throughout the 82-game season, especially when the lights are brightest.

A “star” is anyone who has made an All-Star team or an All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons. Once the All-Star break passes, that year’s selections count as well.

From there, the rules get pretty specific. A team can get itself in trouble if a healthy star sits out a national TV game or an NBA Cup game.

A team can also be flagged if it rests more than one star on the same night, leans on road rest instead of home rest, shuts down a healthy star late in the year, or keeps a resting star away from the bench.

If any healthy star misses a national TV or Cup game, the league automatically launches an investigation. The NBA can also open one on its own if something feels off.

That includes a star who suddenly takes on a limited role or disappears from road trips.

The fines escalate fast. It’s $15,000 for the first violation, and $250,000 for the second. The third jumps to $1.25 million, then increases by another $1 million for each strike after that.

There are exceptions. Age, career workload, injury history, and personal reasons are all legitimate grounds for a star to sit.

The league will allow one end of a back-to-back to be skipped for qualified veterans, although not the nationally televised one. Two stars with approval cannot both miss the same game.

Teams are encouraged to communicate early and often with the league office. And recent rulings have shown that a team can be cleared on the injury itself but fined for how it described the injury, as happened with Philadelphia and Joel Embiid.

The message from the league is clear. If a star can play, the league wants him out there. And if not, the NBA wants to know exactly why.