What are NBA resting rules? Looking at new policies implemented for star players

The NBA Board of Governors, which is comprised of NBA owners, unanimously approved tougher rules and penalties for star players sitting out games on Wednesday. The league's resting rules include punishments for multiple All-Star players missing games together.

The move, among other measures, will see fines substantially increase to keep teams from resting players, particularly during nationally televised games. The new policies come into effect when the NBA is negotiating a new television deal with broadcasters.

Broadcasters have long complained about big-name players missing on what should be star-studded games to the ire of many fans. The new rule will allow the NBA office to fine teams more than $1 million for violations.

"I think we'll state this principle, see how teams react and see if more needs to be done," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said .

How will the new NBA resting rules work?

Because the new resting rules apply to star players, it's crucial to understand what the NBA deems a star player. According to the NBA, a star player is one who has made the All-Star or All-NBA teams in any of the three previous seasons.

The new rules are set to go into place at the start of this season. What are the new resting rules?

Teams cannot rest more than one star player in the same game.

This means the Boston Celtics cannot rest both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the same game. The Suns cannot rest both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. It's fair to say many fans will be pleased with this rule.

Teams have to avail their star players for nationally televised or in-season games.

Teams have traditionally rested star players on back-to-back games. With the new rules, even if a nationally televised game is on a back-to-back schedule, teams won't be allowed to rest the star players. Teams will have to plan accordingly to comply with the new rule.

Teams have to balance between resting star players for home games and road games.

The NBA prefers teams to rest the star players for home games.

NBA teams are not allowed to sit out or shut down a healthy star player for long stretches.

This mostly happens at the end of the season when struggling teams with no playoff expectations sit star players to increase the team's lottery odds. Damian Lillard in Portland and Bradley Beal in Washington are perfect examples of players who were sat out at the end of the season. In addition, the rule mandates that injured players be present and visible to fans in the games they miss.

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The fines for breaking the rules? The first violation attracts a $100,000 fine, the second violation $250,000 and the third $1.25 million. The team will attract a fine of $1,000,000 more than the last fine for subsequent violations.

Exceptions to the rule exist for injured players. Another exception is for players over 35 years old. They will be allowed to sit out back-to-back games. The exception must be pre-approved, and the player must meet a set number of regular season or regular season and playoff minutes.

Will these new resting rules ensure star players consistently show up for work? Only time will tell as there are still plenty of loopholes in the new rules.