The Players Are Right for Resting, and the NBA Should Listen

The NBA injury issues continue, with star players on pace to miss over 1,000 games this season. Many all-star caliber players have already been hit with extended injuries, the whole New Orleans Pelicans roster has been riddled with injury, from Joel Embiid to Kevin Durant, to Chet Holmgren, to Zion Williamson, and more. According to Tom Haberstroh, games lost because of key injuries are up 35 percent from last season. This affects both teams and fans alike, as the NBA product takes a huge step down.

For the NBA, there is only one solution- shorten the regular season. Out of the major sports, the regular season for the NBA clearly holds the least amount of importance. There are several months and games along the schedule that will not make a difference in a team’s chances of missing the playoffs. For the players and the teams, as long as they are at their best towards the end of the season, why put extra stress on the regular season when 20 of 30 teams enter the playoff picture come April?

“Load management” is at an all-time high, and it’s due to the impact that the season has physically on the players. It’s rare to see players nowadays play a full season, or even close to it. The toll the regular season has on NBA players is taking the stars out of the game and has even allowed the players to exploit the system. NBA MVP Joel Embiid admitted that he “would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of his career.” 

These issues continue to pile up in the NBA, with the NBA season having too many meaningless regular season games. It has even affected the playoffs, with players barreling through the regular season just to miss time when it matters the most. In the 15 postseason series that were played in the 2024 playoffs, 10 of which included at least one NBA All-Star to miss at least one game. This number is trending in the wrong direction after the 2023 playoffs saw seven of the series with this scenario.

Not having stars in the game hurts the overall product that the NBA is trying to seek. The NBA's viewership timeline has steadily decreased in recent years. The average viewership went down once again last season. It ranked third to last of the last 30 years, only ahead of the two seasons that played through COVID-19. Primetime basketball 20 years ago had an average viewership of 102.9 million, while last year was sitting at 63.8 million. 

Clearly, the product has taken a major hit. This is because of the lack of importance in regular season games and star players not putting in full effort throughout the season. Even with NBA commissioner Adam Silver already implementing playing 65 games to be eligible for awards, it clearly hasn’t had enough of his impact. To promote elite-level players playing each game, there needs to be more stress on each regular season game.

This change would go away from the shifts that other leagues have done. The MLB added more wildcards and the NFL added a 17th game. These were ways for those specific leagues to generate more revenue while keeping the product as enjoyable to watch. For the NBA, a shortened season could work out more logistically and economically. 

The schedule fix could not be at a better time for the NBA to make the move. With the NBA’s new deal taking place next season, switching from TNT to more games on NBC and Amazon, there is room for a shift. As it stands currently, the NBA generates roughly $2.67 billion in revenue per year. According to the projected numbers, the new 11-year, $76 billion deal would earn around $6.9 billion annually. 

This makes it much easier for the NBA to test out new formats and look to increase ratings. Shortening the season adds importance to each game, can spread out the matchups for longer rest, and allows for more primetime games. With fewer games on the schedule, the NBA can promote more matchups to drive up ratings and highlight the star players who would take the court more frequently. By making the change to a shorter schedule, the NBA can fix their load management problems, while promoting a more entertaining product that will generate higher revenue with the new deal and drive up ratings.