NBA players are not paid to play in the playoffs, so why work hard to make the playoffs?

This season's NBA regular season has come to the final stage, and it feels like the Lakers are now cheering for them everywhere, with competitors suffering consecutive defeats one by one, which makes the Lakers see the dawn of entering the playoffs, and they themselves are also very competitive, winning 8 of 9 games, winning one tough battle after another, and overcoming one strong opponent after another. Including the Suns, too, everyone said that they encountered the devil's schedule and might fall out of the play-offs, but they turned out to be the devil and beat all the Western powerhouses to the point where they didn't want to, and they really fell out of the play-offs, but rushed into the playoffs.

It has to be said that the playoffs are hugely attractive for players. But in fact, NBA players have no salary in the playoffs, and most of the contracts they sign are only related to the regular season, as long as they are not banned in the regular season, even if they are reimbursed for the injured season, the players can get their salaries, but if they enter the playoffs, at most they will increase a small part of the bonus. There are 4 main reasons why you have to work so hard to make the playoffs without a salary:

Although the amount of the contract is rarely linked to the results of the playoffs, there are bonuses in themselves to enter the playoffs, such as the total prize money of 7.13 million after the Nuggets won the championship last season, and each player on the team can get hundreds of thousands plus an extremely expensive ring, for stars, these bonuses are certainly not attractive, but for role players, it is likely to be a salary of several months or even half a year. Including the mid-season tournament, which only started this season, there is not much prize money, but the teams that have the opportunity will still rivet their strength to rush, because role players really need this money.

Of course, what is more important is that competitive sports are inherently proud of winning and proud of winning championships. Even if we played a class competition when we were students, we would do our best to win and win glory for the class. And the players who can enter the NBA, they can all be said to be the Jordan of their own stories, and of course hope that they can taste more victories. Reaching the playoffs and leading the team to advance is to prove his ability and value and gain more recognition.

Team management will also put pressure on them to make it clear what they will do if they don't make the playoffs. After all, NBA team operations require a lot of manpower and material resources, and only results can bring benefits. Therefore, in addition to putting the team in a bad position, they will ask the team to impact the playoffs, and if it doesn't work for a year, it will come back for another year, and if it doesn't work for several years in a row, it will be demolished and rebuilt. Players who could have been at the heart of the team could have been traded away to play for someone else on another team. This kind of pressure will also invisibly spur the players to grow and improve.

Finally, reaching the playoffs is also a huge benefit for players, on the one hand, it is to reap honors, and once they win the championship, they will realize the biggest dream of their playing days. Second, it can also play a better value, even if one or two series have a highlight performance, it will immediately attract more exposure, will be noticed by other teams, get a bigger contract, and may also be solicited by advertisers to get an enviable endorsement contract. After all, the golden age of NBA players is only a dozen years, and not everyone can still achieve great success after retirement, so you should make as much money as possible when you are a player to ensure your life after retirement.