Ex-NBA players say there’s no way league will be able to enforce new cell phone rule

The NBA is expected to implement a revised rule regarding in-game cell phone and social media use, as reported by NBA insider Ian Begley earlier this week.

The league, along with the NBA Players Association, reportedly collaborated to create the revision, which stipulates that neither players nor coaches will be able to go on their phones from tipoff until the end of the game. The policy will apply to players who are active as well as inactive.

But two former NBA players — Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons — have a hard time imagining that the league will be able to enforce the rule.

Begley reported that the rule revision is intended to keep players and coaches focused on the games at hand and added that it’s also intended to address gambling concerns.

“The NBA is expected to communicate to teams an updated policy on cell phone and social media use that prohibits players and coaches from using their phones from tipoff until the end of the game, per SNY sources,” he wrote.

“In the communication, expected to come this week, the NBA will restate the previous rule that prohibited players and coaches from using their phones to post on social media or share video footage (or other information) to a game official, media member or basketball operations personnel seated courtside from 45 minutes before tipoff until after postgame media obligations, sources say.

“The rule revision is intended, primarily, to keep players and coaches focused on team matters during games. The revision also is intended to bolster the integrity of the game as it relates to gambling.”

There will be one designated point of communication for each team, however. In emergencies, that person will be able to field calls and text messages during games. Players and coaches will also be permitted to use their devices in the event that a security issue arises or a player has a medical treatment issue.

Countless players around the NBA are active on social media, including some of the league’s brightest stars in LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic. It may be particularly difficult for players of Doncic’s age range to follow the new cell phone rule, as they have spent much of their lives in an era marked by frequent social media use and the prevalence of smartphones.

NBA fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out how strictly the rule will be enforced in the regular season. The 2024-25 campaign will kick off on Oct. 22 when the Boston Celtics — the defending league champions — take on the New York Knicks at TD Garden in Boston. The Los Angeles Lakers will also take on the Minnesota Timberwolves later that night in L.A.

It remains to be seen whether Williams and Parsons are right in their belief that the NBA will struggle to enforce its updated phone rule.