These New 2024 NBA Changes Are Making Some Players Nervous

The Grizzlies were not fine in the West, Giannis and the Bucks lost again to Jimmy Buckets, and so did the Celtics. Then in the very end, unlike the DC comic books, Batman didn't prevail. The 2023 championship belongs to the Joker, and just like that, this hectic NBA season came to an end. Man oh man guys, what a year for basketball. This was by far one of the most entertaining NBA seasons in a long time. And just when I thought I could finally relax and enjoy the offseason, a list of new changes are coming to the league with some players and teams affected quite a bit, while others not so much. Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves. The first rule change is going to affect this man more than any others. And if you're wondering what I mean, then just take a And during the 2023 NBA playoffs, he flopped so much that sometimes it looked like we were watching WWE Smackdown. Anyway, during the Lakers-Warriors playoff series, here's what Steve Kerr said about the topic of flopping after witnessing The Flopmaster up close. I think to me, you know, what I've learned coaching and FIBA, FIBA has a great rule, there's a flop rule. And if a referee deems that a player has flopped, I just call a technical foul and it's pretty penalizing. And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA. And we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want. Well, the NBA heard Kerr and they agree that this needs to go. You see, every season in the NBA, there are countless amounts of shameless flops going on and the league at this point is tired of it. To combat this, they're going to take a page out of FIBA's books and introduce in-game penalties. So if a referee feels that a player is acting, the opposing team will get one technical free throw. They're also going to implement this as early as the summer league in Vegas to test it out. Now, you remember that about a decade or so ago, the league tried to implement an anti-flopping policy by fining players about $5,000. But a key difference between this new rule change and the old one was, the old one didn't have any in-game penalties. Instead, the monetary penalty was determined by video review after the game. Whereas this new rule for technical free throws will actually be called on the spot by the referees. So yeah, once this new rule comes into effect, Dennis, the flop master shrewder, is going to have to learn how to play real basketball for once instead of jumping all over the floor like a mop. And speaking of real basketball, I wonder how someone like Kawhi Leonard is going to feel about this next change coming to the NBA. I'm talking about the new mid-season tournament. You see, if the league already has trouble getting superstars like Kawhi to play basketball, how are they going to expect them to participate in this new event? Well, Adam Silver recently went on air to explain things, and while everything isn't quite set in stone just yet, here's the gist of it all. So, these games will take place during the first 6 weeks of the regular season. These games, with the exception of the tournament finals, will just be regular season games that still count towards playoff seeding, so it's not like the players will be playing additional games. Next off, the semi-finals and finals of the tournament will take place at a neutral site. Then finally, each player on the winning team will win half a million dollars. And so, while high-earning players like Kawhi Leonard who make like 40 million a year won't be as incentivized to play in these tournaments, players who are on minimum contracts will want to compete hard and win this. Anyway, the main purpose of this mid-season tournament is to infuse additional excitement to the league. This concept is more common in European soccer, but has also been recently implemented in the WNBA under the name Commissioners' Cup. While many fans at the moment don't seem to embrace the idea of a mid-season tournament, the same was also true when the league first implemented the play-in tournament at the end of the regular season, which is now loved by all spectators of the NBA. Personally, I believe this mid-game tournament is an excellent idea because honestly, the 82-game regular season can sometimes drag on and feel monotonous, so injecting some excitement into the middle of the season could do wonders for the league. Once the tournament gets implemented into the NBA in 2024, I see the league making small, gradual adjustments to fine-tune the format each year until they find a version that resonates with players and fans, similar to the numerous changes made to the All-Star Game formats. Another notable change on the horizon for the 2024 NBA season is the alteration in the number of games required to be eligible for prestigious NBA awards. You see, under the new collective bargaining agreement, which goes into effect on July 1st of 2023, there will be a requirement that players must meet in order to win awards like the MVP or Defensive Player of the Year, or any other award for that matter, including being selected to any of the All-NBA teams. Specifically, players will have to play at least 65 games and play at least 20 minutes in each of those outings. If this rule had been in place in the previous seasons, it would have resulted in the disqualification of players like Giannis from winning the MVP in 2020, Montrez Harrell from winning the 6th Man of the Year award in 2020, and Jaron Jackson Jr. from being named Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. This new regulation will also have an immediate impact on Ja Morant. Due to his suspension of 25 games in the upcoming 2024 season, he will be automatically disqualified from consideration from any All-NBA teams and other NBA awards, regardless of whether he plays in every game following his return. This change is one of the strategies implemented by the NBA to encourage players to play in more games. And honestly, Kawhi Leonard is probably one of the main culprits behind the league's decision to have to create a rule like this. I mean, if we look back, the last time Kawhi played in over 65 games during a single season was way back in 2017. However, since then, despite his limited appearances, he still managed to earn multiple All-Defensive selections and multiple All-NBA honors. What adds an intriguing twist to this rule and Kawhi's situation is that the 2024 season will mark the final year of his current contract if he chooses to decline his player option. So, consequently, if he wants to secure a Supermax extension, he'll need to play in at least 65 games next season, which is quite a challenge when it comes to someone like Kawhi. Another intriguing question arising from this is whether this rule will affect a player's eligibility to win the Finals MVP award. Personally, I don't believe it would, but just imagine if it did. I mean, it would have disqualified Steph Curry from receiving that prestigious accolade back in 2022, and that's crazy. Moving on, another notable change on the horizon for the NBA is the possibility of an expansion. Adam Silver in a recent interview was asked about whether the NBA has plans about adding additional teams, and his response was, Once the next media package is finalized, which is expected to be around next spring, then expansions become a significant possibility. And in case you were wondering, the two cities that are most likely going to host these new teams are Seattle and Las Vegas. I mean, Seattle having previously had the Supersonics experienced a significant void after their departure, making it a compelling choice for a team's return. On the other hand, Las Vegas has already proven its capability to handle major sports events, as demonstrated by the success of the Golden Knights, who recently clinched the NHL Championship. Lastly, let's talk about the elephant in the room guys, the new NBA basketballs. You see, up until now, the basketballs that the league has been using are made of genuine leather. However, Wilson, the official supplier of NBA basketballs, recently introduced 3D-printed basketballs that meet the exact specifications of NBA balls in terms of dimensions, weight, and rebound characteristics. These new balls are airless and feature a surface with hexagonal holes. Some people have already tested the feel of these new balls and claimed that it doesn't feel any different than the standard balls currently used in the NBA. However, some others have mentioned that it doesn't feel quite as soft. As of the moment, however, these balls are still in the testing phase, with sales not expected to start until 2024. And if the NBA does decide to make these the next official basketballs, it'll probably be years before the transition occurs.