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Cade Cunningham, Luka Doncic, Adam Silver – EssentiallySports
Imago
Cade Cunningham, Luka Doncic, Adam Silver – EssentiallySports
The NBA’s 65-game rule, its blunt instrument against load management, has sparked widespread backlash from players, executives, and fans alike. Critics argue the policy has done little to curb covert tanking, making its trade-offs increasingly hard to justify. With stars like Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham poised to miss out on postseason honors, mounting calls to amend the rule are piling pressure on Adam Silver and the league office.
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Silver made his position unequivocal at the recent Board of Governors meeting, asserting that “the rule is working.” On a recent episode of the FanDuel All NBA Podcast, former ESPN reporter Marc Stein and host Adam Mares weighed in on the ongoing debate.
“Adam Silver pretty much shot down the idea of changing it. He said, ‘In the league’s view, the rule is working,’ and that’s more defiance from Adam Silver than we usually get,” Stein said earlier today. “He usually treats all these things as an open, like we will consider anything. But he basically shot down the idea of changing the 65-game rule, but again, today’s the last day of the season. You’re gonna see Luka Doncic and maybe Cade Cunningham file these extraordinary circumstance grievances to get themselves ineligible for All-NBA and MVP voting and this is year three of the 65-game rule, we’ve never had these challenges before.”
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Adam Silver reportedly shut down the idea of changing the 65 game rule in the last Board of Governors meeting, per @TheSteinLine
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Luka had a brilliant spell last month, averaging 37.5 points in 16 games. But due to his hamstring setback, he will end the season with 64 games. His agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, will submit a special exemption to the league this weekend. Their bone of contention is the birth of Luka’s second daughter, which led to him missing two games.
Cunningham’s case might not be as straightforward, though. The Detroit Pistons shooting guard missed close to a month because of a punctured lung (pneumothorax) injury. But regardless of the verdict from both requests, the criticism surrounding
“I do not think this is over as a topic. It’s going to come back up in the summertime. Now, can the Union, which again, the union agreed to this rule, (so) it’s gotta be collectively bargained. Can the union and the players be vocal enough to get Adam Silver to change his mind after just three years? I genuinely don’t know,” Stein added.
Mares and Stein raise valid points, given the difficulty of achieving league-wide consensus in today’s NBA landscape. Adam Silver faces competing priorities, with the most pressing being the development of a comprehensive anti-tanking strategy and the reversal of declining regular-season attendance figures.
LeBron James, Giannis, Curry, and others who could miss out
A host of top names are slated to skip awards season after failing to meet the 65-game eligibility criteria. Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (59 games) and GSW’s Stephen Curry (42 games) will both miss out on All-NBA considerations.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid failed to even make the 40-game mark due to injury-ravaged campaigns.
With SGA set to miss out on the final game of the season tonight, Doncic will end the league with the most PPG and total points. His 33.5 PPG and 2,143 points are more than Shai’s 31.1 PPG and 2,117 points.
Despite these numbers, former Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy believes the Slovenian does not deserve to get an exemption from the league under any circumstances.
“The whole thing with his wife having a baby, Cmon! If that were the only games he missed, fine,” Van Gundy said on The Zach Lowe Show last week. “Everybody has missed games for personal reasons! We either have a line, or we don’t. If we have a line, then let’s stick to it. He didn’t make it. Are there other games he maybe could’ve played or would’ve played if they were at the end of the year to qualify?”
Another name to add to this list is Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards. The Atlanta-native, who is considered by some as a potential ‘face of the league’, will end his 2025-26 campaign with 61 games to his name.
On the flipside, veteran Kawhi Leonard ensured he made the cut, hitting the 65-game mark in April.
It remains to be seen how Silver and his team will respond to Luka’s appeal. Granting an exception could establish a problematic precedent that players may exploit in future seasons, while rejecting it risks alienating both the NBPA and fans.
Given Silver’s apparent resolve, however, meaningful changes to the rule appear unlikely unless circumstances shift dramatically.
Written by
Edited by
Tanay Sahai