NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently expressed concern about the trend of teams resting star players, and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has proposed one potential solution.
Kerr thinks the NBA should consider shortening the season from 82 games to 72. If there were 10 less regular season games, Kerr believes that would lead to players not needing as many days off.
Steve Kerr on stopping teams from resting their stars:
“To me what makes the most sense is cutting back to maybe a 72 game schedule. Take 10 games off, and get more time to rest in between games. I think you'll get teams to play their guys more often.”
— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) April 9, 2022
Reducing the number of games would, in theory, make each game matter more. It would also lead to less revenue for the NBA, which would likely mean pay cuts. We doubt players want that, especially since there is no rule in place that prevents them from taking maintenance days.
Silver floated the idea of one major change the NBA could make to combat the player rest issue. The reality is the problem has persisted for years, and there is no easy fix.
Photo: Jan 18, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
