NBA players union says 65-game rule for awards 'must be abolished or reformed'
NBC Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- Cade Cunningham, previously a top contender for MVP and First Team All-NBA honors, suffered a collapsed lung and may miss enough games to fall short of the NBA’s 65-game threshold required for postseason awards eligibility.
- The NBPA and Cunningham’s agent have criticized the 65-game rule as arbitrary and overly rigid, calling for its abolition or reform to allow exceptions for significant injuries.
- Similar concerns have been raised about other star players like Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Anthony Edwards, who face challenges meeting the games-played requirement due to injuries.
- The 65-game rule was originally implemented to discourage load management by linking award eligibility to games played, but it has led to players risking health to qualify and removed voter discretion regarding player impact.
- The NBA is expected to discuss potential changes to this rule and other issues like tanking in the upcoming offseason negotiations between the league and team owners.
