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Stephen Curry remains one of the NBA’s greatest draws. His limitless shooting range, ballhandling wizardry and child-like joy for the game still cause fans to line up around the court to watch his pregame warmup.
For more than two years, one of the league’s must-see talents didn’t play in New Orleans. Curry missed four consecutive games in the Crescent City in the 2022 calendar year. Resting Curry on the second night of a back-to-back was a factor in three of those decisions.
Before Golden State’s Nov. 4, 2022, game in New Orleans, Warriors coach Steve Kerr apologized to fans who had the night circled on their calendar.
“Again, we are just trying to think of the big picture,” Kerr told the media before the game. “Ultimately, the players’ health is the No. 1 factor in our team’s success and even (more) than our fans’ satisfaction in the long run because we want to keep guys healthy throughout the season.”
Kerr added that he was a proponent of the NBA shortening its schedule from 82 regular-season games to 65. Kerr feels so strongly about this issue, he emailed NBA commissioner Adam Silver before the start of this season to plead his case.
“I’m concerned about the product because I think we are asking way too much of our players,” Kerr said in November. “The game has never been more difficult to play at a high level night after night after night. We should account for that. We all need to be thinking about that, for sure.”
In his playing days, Kerr watched Michael Jordan suit up in all 82 regular-season games twice when they were teammates on the Chicago Bulls. Kerr accomplished that feat four times himself. He didn’t miss a game for the Bulls at any point during the 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96 or 1996-97 seasons. Including the playoffs, Kerr played 385 games across that four-year window, an average of more than 96 games per season.
Why does a former player with those credentials believe the length of the season needs to be reviewed?
“Pace and space,” Kerr said. “When I played, you didn’t have to run out to 30 feet to cover a shooter. Now, you do. Back then, you played the game at a very small circumference. Now, it’s a big, wide circle, and you have to cover the entire court. Everyone is playing faster.”
Kerr spent the final season of his career with the San Antonio Spurs in 2002-03. That season, the Boston Celtics led the NBA in 3-point attempts, hoisting an average of 26.3 per game. The Sacramento Kings played at the fastest pace of anyone in the league, averaging 96.6 possessions per 48 minutes.
Teams that pushed boundaries more than two decades ago would be considered laggards today. This season, the Celtics once again lead the NBA in 3-point attempts. They are launching a staggering 48 3s per contest. Seven of their players attempt five or more triples per game.
The Memphis Grizzlies are this season’s pace leaders. They average 104 possessions per 48 minutes, a 7.7 percent uptick compared to the Kings, which led the NBA in pace in the early aughts.
“The numbers do show that our players and the NBA are covering way more ground than they were 15, 20 years ago,” Kerr said. “That’s easily trackable. That’s, I think, significant information. It matches up with what we are seeing on the floor.”
In January 2024, the NBA published a 57-page report focused on the increasing number of games players were missing. The report tracked stars — defined as players who were All-Stars or All-NBA selections in the current season or two prior seasons — across five decades. The report found that the average number of games stars missed in a season had more than doubled in the 2020s compared to the 1980s.
|
Decade |
Games missed per season |
|
1980s |
10.4 |
|
1990S |
10.6 |
|
2000s |
13.9 |
|
2010s |
17.5 |
|
2020s |
23.9 |
The report concluded there was no link between players being load managed — i.e., rested — and a decreased risk of future injury. That backed up what Joe Dumars, the NBA’s vice president of basketball operations, had told coaches three months earlier, some of whom were skeptical.
The NBA instituted a new Player Participation Policy before the start of the 2023-24 season. It prohibited teams from resting players during nationally televised games and In-Season Tournament matchups. The league also introduced a rule that required players to appear in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for MVP and other end-of-season awards.
“I can tell you that the number of games that players have participated in is up this season, and interestingly enough, injuries are down,” Silver said during the February 2024 All-Star break. “Whether that’s meaningful data yet, I don’t know.”
Jeff Stotts, an injury expert who is the founder of In Street Clothes, tracks every game players miss. As of April 10, players had combined to miss 6,525 games this season due to injuries. That was up from the 5,681 games missed at the same point last season.
Stotts believes several factors contribute to the games-missed count continuing to climb. Youth athletes tend to focus on one sport earlier than they used to, and there is evidence that specializing too early can harm players in the long run. Jordan, who played basketball and baseball, was a multi-sport athlete through high school. Today, top youth players play basketball year-round, sometimes cramming in multiple games per day on the AAU circuit.
Stotts also thinks basketball might have evolved quicker than medicine over the past two decades. There has been a radical change in the way the game is played in a short amount of time. For instance, Stotts has zero doubt that Shaquille O’Neal would have still dominated in today’s game. But the physical demands on his body would have been greater.
“Shaq was always going to be Shaq,” Stotts said. “But imagine him having to guard someone on the perimeter. That’s going to be difficult. That’s going to put stress on his body on the defensive end that he didn’t have to worry about when he was playing. Could he have done it?
“Sure. I think he would have to change some things. But I think it would have been extremely difficult and elevated his injury risk accordingly.”
Kerr is one of the NBA’s staunchest advocates for a shorter regular season. He’s skeptical he will ever see it, though.
“We should be playing fewer games,” Kerr said. “Everyone knows that. But it’s a money issue. How many of the constituents are willing to take less money?”
Right now, business is booming. The NBA finalized a national rights deal in July that will pay the league $76 billion over 11 years. That money is considered part of the NBA’s Basketball Related Income, which gets split between the owners and players. The NBA salary cap will increase by 10 percent next season, the maximum possible amount, and it is likely to continue going up for several more years. It’s conceivable that, within a decade, players will be making $100 million per year.
New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has been the president of the NBA Players Association since 2021. McCollum prefers to leave the length of the regular season alone.
“The game is continuing to evolve,” McCollum said. “There are a lot of injuries taking place right now. But I prefer to play an 82-game season. … I enjoy the challenge of trying to get through a long season. There are back-to-backs. There are quote-unquote schedule losses where you land at 3 (a.m.) or 4 (a.m.). Your plane gets stuck. It’s always challenging. But you have a small amount of time to play basketball. You try to maximize it. When it’s over, it’s over.”
Kerr retired in 2003 after 15 seasons. The NBA salary cap was $43.8 million then. Next season, the salary cap is projected to be $154.6 million. Players are missing more games than ever, but there’s no end in sight to the rise in revenue.
Kerr believes that shortening the regular season would create a better on-court product. He’s also realistic that few of the NBA’s key stakeholders are willing to endure short-term pain for long-term gain.
“A lot of things have evolved, including the rules,” Kerr said. “It’s on us to adapt to that as coaches and as caretakers of the league. I just have so much faith in Adam Silver and respect for the league management.
“What I don’t have faith in is America’s willingness to cut back on a few profits here and there in the name of quality. I don’t think that’s in our nature in America.”
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(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Jemal Countess Getty Images, Garrett Elwood/ Getty Images)