Bold New NBA Rule to Impact Mavs’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving

Mavs superstar Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will be impacted by a new rule the NBA is putting in place ahead of the 2023-24 season.

DALLAS — During the course of a long, 82-game NBA season, it's rare that a player ends up participating in all of them. For players that fill major roles like Dallas Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, it's especially challenging to avoid missing at least some time throughout a given campaign.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA is expected to install stricter guidelines and greater punishments for resting star players during the regular season, especially during nationally televised and in-season tournament games.

"The NBA is expected to pass more stringent rules and punishments to limit the resting of star players for nationally televised and in-season tournament games and instances of multiple All-Stars sitting out individual regular-season games, sources told ESPN on Monday," Wojnarowski wrote.

A player is defined as a "star" if they have been named an All-Star or have earned an All-NBA nomination at least once in the last three seasons. The Dallas Mavericks having Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving makes them among various teams that will have to balance resting opportunties among multiple players. 

To enforce the resting guidelines for stars, the NBA will fine teams for violations that occur, beginning with a $100,000 fine for the first offense. It will increase to $250,000 for the second violation and every additional violation will result in a $1 million fine throughout the remainder of the season.  

With the importance of maximizing value of television rights and for the in-arena fan experience, taking greater steps to ensure participation from notable players is a priority for NBA commissioner Adam Silver. A measure already taken has been a requirement of 65 games played to be eligible for awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or to be nominated to one of the three All-NBA teams. 

Last season, Doncic rested during some second night of back-to-backs regardless of whether it was a home or away game from mid-November to mid-January. The Mavs went 0-5 in these games and failed to win without Doncic active until Feb. 6, when the team received career-best scoring outings from Jaden Hardy and Josh Green as the Kyrie Irving trade was still being finalized. 

Doncic will enter the 2023-24 campaign having battled through a competitive and physical FIBA World Cup run with Slovenia. He's still dealing with a thigh injury that he described as being "not okay" after a loss against Lithuania at the World Cup. The injury has lingered since March of last season, making potential injury management strategies during the season something to monitor.  

"I do not know what to say," Doncic said after Slovenia's loss to Lithuania. "It's not okay. At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA."

When the Mavs traded for Irving, part of the benefit was to have a dynamic talent to be the focus of the unit when Doncic isn't on the floor. Whether that's during a stretch of a game while Doncic rests, or when he's sidelined altogether. After losing Jalen Brunson in free agency last summer, the Mavs played much of last season without a backcourt star like Irving to fill that void. 

The continued development of Jaden Hardy will be an important factor for the Mavs in games that both Doncic and Irving are unable to play. Hardy, who is entering his second season, was the focus of the team's NBA Summer League team as he took on major responsibility as an initiator, with the goal of further establishing balance in shot selection and to achieve growth as a passer.

The Mavs open the regular season on Oct. 25, in a road matchup against a San Antonio Spurs team led by rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama.