The CBA Glossary

Participation

If a player is selected for All-Star Weekend, participation is generally not optional. ⓘExhibit A National Basketball Association Uniform Player Contract) Section 2 (Services):

The services to be rendered by the Player pursuant to this Contract shall include: (a) training camp, (b) practices, meetings, workouts, and skill or conditioning sessions conducted by the Team during the Season, (c) games scheduled for the Team during any Regular Season, (d) Exhibition games scheduled by the Team or the League during and prior to any Regular Season, (e) if the Player is invited to participate, the NBA’s All-Star Game (including the Rookie-Sophomore Game) and every event conducted in association with such All-Star Game, but only in accordance with Article XXI of the Collective Bargaining Agreement currently in effect between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (hereinafter the “CBA”), (f) Play-In and playoff games scheduled by the League subsequent to any Regular Season, (g) promotional and commercial activities of the Team and the League as set forth in this Contract and the CBA, (h) any NBAGL Work Assignment in accordance with Article XLI of the CBA, and (i) any service in the NBAGL pursuant to a Two-Way Contract.

Any player selected to the All-Star Game must attend and play in the game itself, and must attend and participate in one skills event during All-Star Weekend, at the NBA's behest (with the exception of the Slam Dunk Contest, which players cannot be forced to enter). They must also attend the other official activities associated with the weekend, such as media obligations, television appearances, sponsor events and promotional activities, provided those obligations are reasonable. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(a) Any player selected (by any method designated by the NBA) to play in an All-Star Game shall be required to:

(i) attend and participate in such Game;

(ii) attend and participate in one (1) All-Star Skills Competition (but not including the Slam Dunk Competition) designated by the NBA that is conducted during the All-Star Weekend on which such Game is held; and

(iii) attend and participate in every other event conducted in association with such All-Star Weekend, including, but not limited to, a reasonable number of media sessions, television appearances, and promotional appearances.

Players selected for the Rising Stars game (formerly known as the Rookie-Sophomore Game) have similar obligations. They must play in the game, participate in any skills competitions the NBA assigns to them, and attend the associated media and promotional events. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(b) Any player selected (by any method designated by the NBA) to play in a Rookie-Sophomore Game (e.g., Rookies vs. Sophomores, captains-selected mix of Rookies and Sophomores on each team, or U.S. players vs. international players) shall be required to:

(i) attend and participate in such Game;

(ii) attend and participate in any All-Star Skills Competition designated by the NBA that is conducted during the All-Star Weekend on which such Game is held; and

(iii) attend and participate in every other event conducted in association with such All-Star Weekend, including, but not limited to, a reasonable number of media sessions, television appearances, and promotional appearances.

A player who is not selected to either game but is selected for a skills competition - such as the Three-Point Contest or Skills Challenge - must participate in that competition. However, the NBA cannot force the same player into a skills competition for more than two consecutive years unless he won the competition the previous year. As above, the Slam Dunk Contest is treated differently - no player can be compelled to participate in it. However, once a player voluntarily agrees to enter the dunk contest at the NBA's request, he is then obligated to take part. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(c) Any player who has not been selected to play in the All-Star Game or the Rookie-Sophomore Game, but has been selected (by any method designated by the NBA) to participate in an All-Star Skills Competition (but not including the Slam Dunk Competition) shall be required to attend and participate in such Skills Competition. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no player will be required to attend and participate in such All-Star Skills Competition for more than two (2) consecutive years, unless he is the prior year’s winner of such All-Star Skills Competition. Any player who, at the request of the NBA, voluntarily agrees to participate in the Slam Dunk Competition,, , shall be required to attend and participate in such Slam Dunk Competition.

Players who are officers or representatives of the Players Association may attend the union's annual meeting during All-Star Weekend, and any player may attend the Players Association's All-Star party. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(d) Nothing in this Article XXI shall preclude a player who is an officer or a representative of the Players Association from attending the Players Association’s annual meeting during All-Star Weekend or preclude any player from attending the Players Association’s All-Star party.

The method of All-Star selection and any of the All-Star Weekend events is not a CBA matter, and is thus not covered in the agreement. The weekend is by and large business and entertainment decision belonging to the league, not a labour issue needing collectively bargaining, except for the few issues listed here. The NBA therefore retains the freedom to change the selection method, provided that players' bargained-for rights weren't affected. The CBA only governs the employment consequences of participation. Remember that the CBA rarely tells the NBA how to run itself - it mostly tells the NBA what it can require players to do and how players must be compensated or protected when it does so.

Non-participation

As above, participation is somewhat mandatory in the All-Star Weekend. But of course, injuries do happen, as can illness, and there can also other reasons approved by the Commissioner.

A player can be excused from an All-Star Game, Rising Stars Game or skills competition if he is physically unable to participate because of injury or illness, or if the Commissioner determines there is another valid reason (about which the Commissioner has broad discretion). Importantly, however, the NBA does not simply have to accept a team's claim that a player is injured. If a player or their team says they should be excused because of injury or illness, the Commissioner can require an examination by a doctor chosen by the NBA, and that doctor alone determines whether the player is genuinely unable to participate. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 1(a), (b), or (c) above, a player will not be required to participate in a particular All-Star Game, Rookie-Sophomore Game, or All-Star Skills Competition if he has been excused from participation in the particular event by the Commissioner because (i) he has an injury or illness that renders him physically unable to participate in such Game or Skills Competition, or (ii) for such other reason as the Commissioner may determine in his sole discretion. If the player asserts, or the player’s Team asserts in respect of the player, that he should be excused from participation in a particular All-Star Game or event under Section 1(e)(i) above, the Commissioner shall be authorized to require the player to submit to a medical examination to be performed by a physician designated by the NBA, and the determination of whether Section 1(e)(i) is satisfied shall be made by such physician in his sole discretion. [...]

The most interesting consequence comes afterwards. If a player is excused from All-Star duties because of injury or illness, he cannot immediately return to action for his NBA team. Instead, he must remain on the team's inactive list until the NBA clears him to return. This prevents a player from claiming he is too injured to participate in All-Star Weekend and then appearing in his team's next game merely days later, under false pretenses. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(e) [...] In the event that a player is excused from participation in an All-Star Game or event under Section 1(e)(i) above, he shall thereafter remain on his Team’s Inactive List until he is cleared to return to the Active List by the NBA.

Prizes and payment

Players do in fact get paid for taking part in All-Star Weekend events, and the pay is performance related.

● For the All-Star game itself, players on the winning team each get $100,000, and players on the losing team get $25,000. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 2 (Awards):

(a) For their participation in an All-Star Game, players on the winning team shall each receive $100,000 and players on the losing team shall each receive $25,000.

● For the Rookie-Sophomore game (or whatever it chooses to call itself by at the time), players on the winning team each get $250,000, and players on the losing team get $10,000. If there are more than two teams, first-place team members get $25,000 each, second get $15,000 each, and all other participants get $10,000 each. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 2 (Awards):

(b) For their participation in a Rookie-Sophomore Game, players on the winning team shall each receive $25,000 and players on the losing team shall each receive $10,000 (or, if there are more than two teams of players that participate in the Rookie-Sophomore Game, then players on the winning team shall each receive $25,000, players on the second place team shall each receive $15,000, and players on the remaining teams shall each receive $10,000).

● For the Slam Dunk contest, the winner gets $105,000, second gets $55,000, and $20,000 goes to each of third and fourth. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 2 (Awards):

[there's a chart for all those; just trust me]

● For the Three-Point Shootout, the winner gets $60,000, second gets $40,000, third gets $25,000, fourth through seventh each get $15,000, and eighth gets $10,000. (Seems harsh on the guy who comes last.) ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 2 (Awards):

[there's a chart for all those; just trust me]

● For the Skills Challenge, the winner gets $55,000, second gets $40,000, third and fourth both get $20,000, and fifth through eighth each get $15,000. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 2 (Awards):

[there's a chart for all those; just trust me]

Players who withdrew, as per the non-partcipation section above, do not get paid, unless a) they also missed the team's last regular season game before the All-Star Weekend, or, b) they also miss the first one after it. The idea of that is to protect against fake injuries for those who might not want to participate for whatever reason. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 1 (Participation):

(f) Any player who is selected to play in an All-Star Game but is excused from participation under Section 1(e) above shall not receive the All-Star award due to him under Section 2(a) below unless (i) he does not play in his Team’s last Regular Season game prior to that All-Star Game or (ii) he does not play in his Team’s first Regular Season game following that All-Star Game.

Other

If a team plays on the Thursday before an All-Star Game, they will neither play a game on the following Tuesday, nor practice before 2pm local time. ⓘArticle XX (Scheduling) Section 7 (All-Star):

No Team that plays a game on the Thursday prior to the All-Star Game shall play a game on the Tuesday following the All-Star Game or conduct a practice session prior to such Tuesday at 2 p.m. (local time).

Any player participating in the All-Star Game, Rising Stars Game or an All-Star Skills Competition is entitled to bring two guests. The NBA pays for round-trip first-class airfare for those guests between the player's NBA home city and the site of the event. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 3 (Player Guests):

Each player who participates in the All-Star Game, Rookie-Sophomore Game, or any All-Star Skills Competition may invite two (2) guests, who shall be reimbursed for the cost of round-trip first-class air transportation between the home city of the Team by which such player is employed and the site of the All-Star Game, Rookie-Sophomore Game, or All-Star Skills Competition.

Players who are not involved in any All-Star Weekend activity receive a guaranteed three-day break. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 4 (Players Not Participating in All-Star Activities):

Players who do not attend or participate in the All-Star Game, Rookie-Sophomore Game, an All-Star Skills Competition, or NBAGL All-Star activities shall have three (3) days off during the All-Star Weekend break.

The NBA alone decides which skills competitions will be held each year. If it wants the Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge, and Slam Dunk Contest, that's its call. However, if it wants to create a completely new event that did not exist before the 2023-24 season, it must first obtain the Players Association's consent. The union's consent cannot be "unreasonably withheld," meaning it can't reject proposals arbitrarily, but it does have a seat at the table. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 5 (All-Star Skills Competitions):

The All-Star Skills Competitions that take place during any All-Star Weekend shall be selected by the NBA; provided, however, that before adding any new event to the All-Star Skills Competitions that take place during any All-Star Weekend (i.e., an event different from any conducted by the NBA during any All-Star Weekend held prior to the 2023-24 Season), the NBA shall obtain the consent of the Players Association, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The rule relating to mandatory participation in Section 1(c) above shall apply only to current All-Star Skills Competitions (with the exception of the Slam Dunk Competition), unless the player is the prior year’s winner of an All-Star Skills Competition (with the exception of the Slam Dunk Competition), and the new event is consented to by the Players Association under this Section 5.

The NBA and the Players Association agree to continue talking in good faith about:the nature of All-Star Weekend on matters such as scheduling, event formats, player participation and prize money. There is not a requirement that the parties agree. There is simply a requirement that they keep discussing these issues. ⓘArticle XXI (All-Star Game) Section 6 (All-Star Skills Committee):

The NBA and the Players Association shall continue to discuss in good faith matters relating to All-Star Weekend, including the nature, schedule, and format of All-Star events, player participation therein, and award amounts.

It used to be the case that being a two-time All-Star starter was an acceptable criterion for rookie extensions to hit the "Higher Max Criteria", or what is colloquially known as the Rose Rule. It is not now.

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