The NBA’s controversial 65-game rule continues to divide the league. Commissioner Adam Silver defended the policy at the recent Board of Governors meeting, as per reports, firmly stating the rule “is working.”
With stars like Cade Cunningham potentially losing All-NBA honors due to injury, the players’ association has called for the rule to be “abolished or reformed”.
Silver Doubles Down Despite Growing Backlash
During the March Board of Governors meeting, Silver backed his refusal to modify the rule, emphasizing its role in preserving game integrity. In their latest podcast, Adam Mares and Marc Stein revealed Silver’s uncharacteristically firm stance on the matter.
“I’m not ready to say it’s not working. It is working,” Silver stated when addressing concerns about the rule’s impact on deserving players.
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein noted this marked departure from Silver’s usual diplomatic approach:
“Adam Silver pretty much shot down the idea of changing it… That’s more defiance from Adam Silver than we usually get. Like usually, no matter what question you throw at Adam Silver at a press conference, he’s going to say, ‘We’ll talk about it. We’re going to look at it.’ …But he basically shot down the idea of changing the 65 game rule.”
The controversy intensified after Detroit’s Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung and played in only 61 games. Other affected stars include Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Anthony Edwards, all of whom are ineligible for major awards this season.
The Cade Cunningham Case
Cade Cunningham is the most recent big name to show how the NBA’s minimum 65 games requirement can unfairly blame players for situations that are not their fault. Before his collapsed lung case, he had to be out for a few weeks. The Detroit Pistons guard was breaking out, scoring over 24 points.
In the end, he played only 61 games before injury, but was back after missing many. This has brought back the discussion on whether injuries should prevent players who are deserving of recognition at an individual level.
The Domino Effect
At 33.5 points per game, Luka Dončić is the NBA’s leading scorer when he got injured a Grade 2 hamstring strain in his 64th game turnout. He rested the game just before the minimum eligibility. His representative Bill Duffy is submitting an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” due to two Luka missed games in December for a trip to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter.
Both Anthony Edwards and Giannis Antetokounmpo are also excluded, even though they had excellent seasons. According to the Stein-Mares podcast, six of the league’s top 10 highest-paid players failed to reach the threshold this season, exposing how widespread the problem has become.
The NBPA has floated quite a few options including the idea of lowering the games threshold to 58 games (which is 70% of the season), which would have made several players eligible.
Silver called an emergency May Board of Governors meeting but this is chiefly for discussion of tanking. Even if the rule has received a record amount of criticism in its third year, Silver has made it clear he is not opening the door to revising the 65-game policy and he keeps on saying that “the rule is working” even in cases of individual difficulty.
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