NBA players union says 65-game rule should be ‘abolished or reformed’

The National Basketball Players Association wants the 65-game rule to be changed or gone altogether. In a statement obtained Tuesday by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, he cited Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards, describing the rule as unfair to players:

Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for playoff awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and another example of why it needs to be abolished or reformed to create an exception for serious injuries. Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors due to this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.

First implemented in the 2023-24 season, the 65-game rule grants eligibility for games played. The basic framework is simple: To be in the running for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams, you must play in at least 65 games.

NBA 65-game rule: Where Cade Cunningham, Kawhi Leonard and other award contenders stand

James Herbert

Cunningham, who had a collapsed lung last week and must play in five additional games to maintain his award eligibility, it’s only fair one of several players likely to be affected by the rule this season. On the Pistons alone, there are two other examples.

Isaiah Stewart and Daniss Jenkins could be candidates for All-Defense and Most Improvement Player, respectively, but both are already out of the running. (Although both Stewart and Jenkins could finish the season with more than 65 games played, many of their appearances would not count. In this context, a “game” requires playing at least 20 minutes, although each player is allowed a maximum of two additional games in which they log more than 15 and less than 20 minutes.)

Stewart told CBS Sports this month he was “pissed off” by the rule last season and had contacted the NBPA about it. He said the NBPA recognizes the rule hurts deserving applicants. Tuesday’s press release confirms this.

The 65-game rule, collectively negotiated in 2023, includes an exception for certain players suffering season-ending injuries. This exception doesn’t help Cunningham, however. To qualify for the exception, the player must have played in at least 62 regular season games (and at least 85% of his team’s regular season games) and then suffered a season-ending injury.

Cunningham was injured five minutes into his 61st game, and injury not expected to end season. To reach the 65-game mark, he’ll have to return to the lineup on April 4 and play in Detroit’s remaining five games (but he could, in theory, play between 15 and 20 minutes in two of them).

Potential adjustments to the 65-game rule

Along with the Player Participation Policy (PPP), the 65-game rule was designed to discourage load management. In reality, however, it skewed the races for end-of-season awards and prevented voters from weighing players’ game and minute totals as they saw fit.

If the league isn’t ready to completely destroy it, here are some ideas for reform (beyond just carving out cases like Cunningham’s):

• Reduce the quota. Maybe 58 games – 70% of the season – makes more sense. This is the requirement for the league’s statistical leaders.
• Reduce the minimum minute requirement. THE weird situation with Donte DiVincenzo in 2024 would not have happened if matches lasting more than 10 minutes counted. Stewart would have been eligible for awards last season as well.
• Reduce the consequences. Instead of removing players who don’t meet playing requirements from the ballots entirely, there could be restrictions on their eligibility — perhaps voters aren’t allowed to rank them first or second for an award or put them on the All-NBA and All-Defensive lists. First of all Teams, for example.

Cunningham isn’t the only MVP candidate who could end up missing the cut this seasonBesides. Victor Wembanyama only has two buffer games, and Nikola Jokić and Kawhi Leonard each only have one buffer game. Anthony Edwards, who is sidelined with right knee inflammation, could also be on the bubble, depending on when he makes his return.