What Should Constitute an NBA Rookie?

[Ogaju]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

A quick view on Wiki brought this up:

In the National Basketball Association, a rookie is any player who has never played a game in the NBA until that year.

By this definition, it doesn't matter whether a player is considered injured or not. But I really don't want to get back into the discussion of definitions 

You can't go wrong if you just stick with the original dictionary definition of rookie, not the definition adopted after the NBA's vaster diazinon of the word.

[tazzmaniac]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

As long as the player is not one of the 13 active players for any team for any game during the season, he would be considered a rookie for the following season.  Teams can draft and stash a player in the g-league for the full season and not ever make them active for the season.  I'd expect that to become more common if the one and done rule is eliminated. 

[KGs Knee]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

As long as the player is not one of the 13 active players for any team for any game during the season, he would be considered a rookie for the following season.  Teams can draft and stash a player in the g-league for the full season and not ever make them active for the season.  I'd expect that to become more common if the one and done rule is eliminated. 

Is this just speculation, opinion, or do you have a link that provides evidence this is the official rule?

I only ask, because I always assumed it was the opposite and if you were on the 15 man roster, and available to play (healthy), whether you actually played or not didn't matter.  The only exception for getting a do-over on your rookie season is if you are injured prior to the first regular season game and remain on the injury report for the entire season.

And this is the main reason why I think it would be most prudent to clear up all the conflicting designations and possibilities by simply making your rookie year the first year you accrue NBA tenure.  Whether you are injured, healthy but sitting on the bench all year, or playing in the G-League shouldn't matter.  If you accrue a year of tenure, that was your rookie year. That would take all of the confusion out of it, and make it as simple as possible.  It would also be the most fair manner to handle it, in my opinion.

[Moranis]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

As long as the player is not one of the 13 active players for any team for any game during the season, he would be considered a rookie for the following season.  Teams can draft and stash a player in the g-league for the full season and not ever make them active for the season.  I'd expect that to become more common if the one and done rule is eliminated. 

Is this just speculation, opinion, or do you have a link that provides evidence this is the official rule?

I only ask, because I always assumed it was the opposite and if you were on the 15 man roster, and available to play (healthy), whether you actually played or not didn't matter.  The only exception for getting a do-over on your rookie season is if you are injured prior to the first regular season game and remain on the injury report for the entire season.

And this is the main reason why I think it would be most prudent to clear up all the conflicting designations and possibilities by simply making your rookie year the first year you accrue NBA tenure.  Whether you are injured, healthy but sitting on the bench all year, or playing in the G-League shouldn't matter.  If you accrue a year of tenure, that was your rookie year. That would take all of the confusion out of it, and make it as simple as possible.  It would also be the most fair manner to handle it, in my opinion.

John Holland is a rookie this year despite signing 10 day contracts and even playing in a playoff game for the Celtics

[KGs Knee]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

As long as the player is not one of the 13 active players for any team for any game during the season, he would be considered a rookie for the following season.  Teams can draft and stash a player in the g-league for the full season and not ever make them active for the season.  I'd expect that to become more common if the one and done rule is eliminated. 

Is this just speculation, opinion, or do you have a link that provides evidence this is the official rule?

I only ask, because I always assumed it was the opposite and if you were on the 15 man roster, and available to play (healthy), whether you actually played or not didn't matter.  The only exception for getting a do-over on your rookie season is if you are injured prior to the first regular season game and remain on the injury report for the entire season.

And this is the main reason why I think it would be most prudent to clear up all the conflicting designations and possibilities by simply making your rookie year the first year you accrue NBA tenure.  Whether you are injured, healthy but sitting on the bench all year, or playing in the G-League shouldn't matter.  If you accrue a year of tenure, that was your rookie year. That would take all of the confusion out of it, and make it as simple as possible.  It would also be the most fair manner to handle it, in my opinion.

John Holland is a rookie this year despite signing 10 day contracts and even playing in a playoff game for the Celtics

Are you sure about that?  He's not a rookie according to the NBA website.

[Moranis]

So if a player in their first year on a rookie contract is healthy, practices and is eligible to play but never plays a minute that first year, are they deemed a rookie the following season  if they finally get game minutes the next year? Does being healthy and on the team participating but not playing deemed the same as being injured?

As long as the player is not one of the 13 active players for any team for any game during the season, he would be considered a rookie for the following season.  Teams can draft and stash a player in the g-league for the full season and not ever make them active for the season.  I'd expect that to become more common if the one and done rule is eliminated. 

Is this just speculation, opinion, or do you have a link that provides evidence this is the official rule?

I only ask, because I always assumed it was the opposite and if you were on the 15 man roster, and available to play (healthy), whether you actually played or not didn't matter.  The only exception for getting a do-over on your rookie season is if you are injured prior to the first regular season game and remain on the injury report for the entire season.

And this is the main reason why I think it would be most prudent to clear up all the conflicting designations and possibilities by simply making your rookie year the first year you accrue NBA tenure.  Whether you are injured, healthy but sitting on the bench all year, or playing in the G-League shouldn't matter.  If you accrue a year of tenure, that was your rookie year. That would take all of the confusion out of it, and make it as simple as possible.  It would also be the most fair manner to handle it, in my opinion.

John Holland is a rookie this year despite signing 10 day contracts and even playing in a playoff game for the Celtics

Are you sure about that?  He's not a rookie according to the NBA website.

well then I guess he isn't. I did think it was strange he was listed as a rookie on a lit of sites when he had played in the playoffs but he had 0 regular season games so I thought that might be it.

Nader is a rookie this year despite being drafted by the Celtics 2 drafts ago, playing in summer league 2 seasons ago, and spending a season at the Celtics GLeague team.  I don't think anyone complaining about Simmons has a problem with Nader being called a rookie.