NBA considering tying awards to games played in effort to reduce load management, per report

Will awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year have a games played threshold in the future?

Load management has remained an issue that the NBA hasn't quite seemed to figure out. They've tinkered with the schedule to limit instances of four games in five nights, and ensuring that players get ample rest before primetime matchups. But that still hasn't stopped star players from taking games off in an effort to preserve their bodies.

As a potential solution to the issue, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have talked about the idea of tying the league's awards, like Most Valuable Player, to games played, according to The Athletic. The conversations have happened as the two sides discuss a new collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season.

While this seems like an intriguing idea on the surface, I'm not sure how much of an impact this will have on how players approach the season. Teams already map out scheduled rest days for stars and important role players, so if the league introduces a specific number of games required to be eligible for an award, teams will just factor that in to rest schedules. It's also not as if games played isn't already being factored into awards voting, because it surely is for things like MVP.

If the league and the NBPA agree to add that to the next CBA, which The Athletic reports that it "will land in the final CBA in some form," it'll also be interesting to see if there will be some leeway if a player falls one or two games shy of whatever threshold they set. Will this agreement also weigh missing games due to injury compared to just load management the same way? 

It's clear that the NBA has made it a priority to incentivize players to compete in most regular season games. Another way they're attempting to do that is by the potential introduction of a in-season tournament that would result in cash prizes for the winning team. That idea has been floated around for quite some time, and could be implemented as early as next season if approved.

The NBA is doing everything to try and improve its regular season product aside from considering reducing the number of games on the schedule. If the league shortened its schedule in a way that would completely eliminate back-to-backs, there would likely be less players sitting out. That solution is obviously easier said than done, as the financial risk alone would be enough reason for the NBA not to consider it. 

However, the other potential solutions, like tying games played to end-of-season awards might not do much to move the needle, either. We'll have to see if this makes its way into the new CBA, and if it has any real impact on load management going forward.