Which Chicago Bulls players qualify as "stars" in the NBA's new rest policy

The Bulls "Big 3" will not benefit from the new rule changes

The NBA is making sure its best players are almost always on the court, as it approved a more stringent rest policy for the players, prohibiting teams from resting two “star” players in a single game. The new policy, which takes effect at the start of the 2023-2024 season, mandates that NBA teams must ensure its “stars” are available to play in nationally televised matches and in In-Season Tournament games. 

In addition, teams must balance the number of one-game absences for a “star” player, with the NBA preferring those absences to happen during home games. Under this new policy, a “star” is defined as a player who has been named an All-Star or has earned a spot on an All-NBA team in the last three seasons. So, how does this new policy impact the Chicago Bulls?

Not really a problem for the Bulls

Technically, the Bulls can only rest one of their three stars — Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. However, the team isn’t really fond of load management, as the three aforementioned players played the most minutes of any “Big 3” in the NBA. DeRozan missed just eight games, mainly due to a hamstring injury late in the season, while LaVine missed five, mostly early in the season when he was still regaining his form after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason. Vucevic played in all 82 regular season games.

Most affected teams

The teams that will bear the brunt of this new policy are the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors have five players who meet the star criteria— Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Chris Paul. Meanwhile, Minnesota has Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gobert.

"We're trying to deal with some of the most egregious examples," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "Where multiple star players, for example, healthy, healthy all out on the same night. We're letting down the fans, we're letting down our partners by doing that."

It remains to be seen how these new rule changes affect the league and the Bulls.