The Evolution of the NBA: Player Rest

Like the rest of the world, technology is changing the NBA. Teams are using cameras designed for missile defense, virtual reality tools and wearable technology as part of their training and decision making.

The Evolving NBA

Every decision made by a team in the NBA has a large effect on a team and it will also likely have ripple effects. The effort by NBA teams to improve their decision making and gain an edge over other teams helped spark the analytics movement in the NBA.

Teams began to quantify anything and everything in an effort to determine the value of skills and players. They even started to create whole departments devoted to analytics. Eventually they would install the SportVu cameras in every arena, which track the location of all 10 players and the ball 25 times per second.

A similar movement began a few years ago with sports science. Teams are developing player specifics diets and workout routines among other things to increase players’ performance. Teams also began using wearable technology to measure player performance to help improve it and prevent injury.

Related: Top Points from Adam Silver All-Star Press Conference

The Problems Created by Evolution

As wearable technology use became more prevalent in the NBA and research on the affects of sleep on performance advanced, the practice of resting seemingly healthy players started.

The movement has escalated to the point that NBA and the NBA Players Association (NBAPA) devoted a whole section (section 13 of Article 12) of the recently negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to forming a Wearables Committee and the use and security of the data generated by the wearable.

On Monday evening, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sent a memo to team owners about the practice of resting players. A problem that is getting more complex by the day.

Silver recognizes the complexity of this problem and the difficulty of finding a solution or a balance to the problem. He demonstrated this at his press conference during All Star weekend.

Silver’s Statements:

"So we do hope it will cut down on the resting of players in marquee games,” Silver added. “I do recognize, though, that there isn’t an easy solution to that problem, and I’m sympathetic to fans who turn out — whether they buy tickets to games or watching games on television — and don’t see their favorite player on the floor. But we also have to be realistic that the science has gotten to the point where there is that direct correlation that we’re aware of between fatigue and injuries. And as tough as it is on our fans to miss one of their favorite players for a game, it’s far better than having them get injured and be out for long periods of time. So we’re always still looking to strike that right balance."

This is the nuance and reasonableness we have come to expect from Silver since he has taken over as Commissioner. There was a part of Shelburne’s report that was troubling and seemingly undercuts what he said during All Star weekend.

"He states that it is unacceptable for owners to be uninvolved or defer decision-making on this topic to others in their organizations, who may not have the same awareness of the impact these decisions can have on “fans and business partners,” the reputation of the league and “perception of our game.”"

Moving Forward:

Owners being involved in decision making about a player’s health is fundamentally a problem. Decisions to rest players are being made by doctors and players, based on a variety of factors and data. This is how it should remain.

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Players are more educated than ever about the affects of their actions on their bodies. This has led to players partying less and focusing on their bodies more. In addition, players are trying all types of new treatments to speed recovery or gain an edge. These  include sensory deprivation and cryotherapy.

The NBA asking players to take on more risk to their bodies because a game is on national television in the middle of March is dangerous. The average NBA career is only 4.8 years.

Players should do everything they can to prolong their careers. Because on average they have a short time frame to make as much money as they can. Moreover, adding more injury risk this late in the season is adding more risk to players missing the postseason. This would be bad for the players, teams, fans, the NBA and their partners.

As the NBA has evolved there have been problems with the schedule uncovered. It is on the NBA to fix the problems, not on the players to suffer through them.