Live broadcast on February 14th Today, NBA commissioner Xiao Hua and Mei Kee Shaun Powell had a Q&A.
The reporter asked: This is the first year that the policy of "players must play at least 65 games to be eligible for awards" has been implemented, and some players may be affected by this, did you expect this to happen? Or are you surprised by the situation in which this kind of player is affected?
"We did expect some players to have a problem with this, and because we set a boundary, some players will no longer be eligible for the award," Xiao said. In a league where the contract is fully guaranteed, a player who doesn't make the playoffs or plays fewer games will not be paid less if they miss the game due to injury or choose to take a rotational break, and they will receive the full salary. And these awards and titles, in essence, in addition to honor and respect, also have economic consequences for the league. I think the 65-game cut-off, where the players play 80 per cent of the games, seems like a reasonable cut-off. ”
To the confuse of some, we pay 450 players a year, which is 51% of our total basketball revenue. I think the only way to tell if this policy is working is to wait until the end of the season and see how the salaries of these players are distributed. So, in deciding who gets the prize money or not, is the result fair for every player? ”
So the result is achievable, and it doesn't make a situation that is unfair to individual players happen. Right now, we're seeing an increase in All-Star-caliber players in the league, and in collective bargaining, everyone, every team, and every player needs to understand what this policy is all about. Especially as we enter the era of a new ** payment model, even if there are fans who support their favorite stars to choose to rotate for a specific game, there will be some fans who say, 'This game is not worth my price'. Everyone in the NBA understands that we are in the entertainment business industry. We don't want to play injured players like we used to, but we also have an obligation to play more games. ”
Subsequently, the reporter asked again: To sum up, although the current sample is still small, has this new policy achieved the expected effect?
Xiao Hua replied: "Yes." It's only halfway through the season, but in my opinion, this new policy has worked. ”