NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s mic drop on 65-game rule is going to make a lot of people mad

The NBA’s 65-game minimum for awards eligibility has drawn ire from players, agents, fans, and analysts alike. But don’t expect it to change anytime soon.

During an appearance on WFAN’s ‘The Carton Show’, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the polarizing rule, which barred the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Edwards from being eligible for end-of-season awards, including All-NBA, ending James’ 21-year streak of All-NBA appearances in the process.

“I still think the (65-game) rule is working,” Silver said [h/t HoopsHype]. “Remember, even when we came together with the union and passed this rule, one-third of all NBA players, the season before we put this rule in place, did not play 65 games, which is crazy. And remember, from the union standpoint, it’s zero-sum. In our collective bargaining agreement, if we pay out 50% of the revenue, we pay out 50% of the revenue.

“Where this becomes important is not just, I think, for players who deservedly want to be eligible for these honors, but it also has an impact on their contract. To the extent one player doesn’t get the money, another player does. So the union’s always on both sides of these things, and we always knew anywhere you drew the line, there would be guys who would both be disappointed, and some people might say it was unfair.”

Although the 65-game rule came into effect starting with the 2023-24 season, this year featured more and more severe injuries to the league’s top players. In addition to James and Edwards, MVP candidates Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama just barely reached 65 games, and fellow candidates Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham had to appeal (and successfully so) using an extraordinary circumstances provision after falling just short of playing 65.

NBA award winners are expected to be announced throughout the rest of April and May.

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