The race for NBA MVP is entering its final stage as we approach the postseason. But the way this one might wrap up is bound to feel a little off compared to most years. Injuries have disrupted the usual order of things, presenting the possibility of an unexpected MVP. The All-NBA teams could also end up looking rather different, and that is beginning to vex many people.

As of now, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the leading contender. However, the reigning finals MVP missed most of February battling an abdominal strain and doesn’t have much margin left thanks to the league’s 65-game rule. Gilgeous-Alexander will have to play 14 of the Thunder’s last 19 games if he wishes to defend his crown. As for the second in line, Nikola Jokic, the margin narrows further, as merely one more game keeps him alive in the conversation.

This rule is something that former Indiana Pacers player-turned-analyst Reggie Miller wants Adam Silver to address in the modern NBA era.

Speaking on the latest segment of The Dan Patrick Show, Miller addressed how the 65-game rule criteria affects players like Jokic and NBA legend LeBron James, who is already past the limit.

“Number one, I’d get rid of it. That’s a hard number in today’s game. And I know it sounds so trivial for people to say they can’t play 65 games. The amount of running and how the game is played today, I see where the injuries are coming from. I think 65 is a tough number,” Miller said yesterday.

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Since his rookie season in 2004, it will be LeBron’s first time to miss out on an All-NBA selection. One can say his career has been decorative enough for this not matter. However, it does, especially for players like LeBron who are shrouded in rumors of retirement.

“In terms of someone winning MVP, I would be okay if a Cade Cunningham won MVP this year because of the number of games. His numbers back it up, his team’s backing it up. I would be okay if Jaylen Brown won MVP this season. His numbers back it up, his game backs it up. So, uh, it’s unfortunate, injuries are a part of this game,” Miller continued.

Miller further referenced MLB legend Alex Rodriguez, who was crowned MVP in 2003 despite his team finishing last that year. The 60-year-old also went on to assert that this rule also brought into question the quality of players making the All-NBA teams this year.

“I don’t personally like this 65 (criteria rule). You look at the All-NBA teams this year. That’s a different conversation because we could have people that are making the All-NBA teams that probably normally wouldn’t be first, second, or third team because of this 65-game rule. The awards I can kind of see, but uh, there’re going to be some guys on the All-NBA team where you’re kind of going to be scratching your head a little bit,” Miller concluded.

Cade Cunningham has a real shot at winning the MVP honors this season, and no doubt, he’s earned his spot. He leads the league in total assists and does so while pushing the Pistons, who few expected to be where they are. Still, the overall impact of the likes of Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander is far more explosive as of now. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander sit atop almost every major advanced metric, like win shares and player efficiency.

This rule, which exists because of the NBA’s 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, has thus become the center of a debate. To many, it doesn’t add up that to qualify for major end-of-season awards, players must log 20 or more minutes in at least 63 games.

Will Adam Silver Tweak The NBA MVP Eligibility Criteria?

The NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule for postseason awards was first introduced in 2023. It was done keeping in mind that star players were taking extended time-offs from games before the playoffs. NBA commissioner Adam Silver wanted to curb the excessive ‘load management’ and made a call implementing the rule. But following injuries to Jokic and Wembanyama, NBA fans are beginning to see the cracks surrounding this criterion.

Miller is not the first to criticize the 65-game eligibility rule this season. There have been other analysts like Nick Wright and Chris Broussard who’ve also made their points as to why this rule needs to be abolished. Even Pacers superstar, Tyrese Haliburton, was vocal about how this rule could affect the legacies of players like Wemby or Jokic in the long-term,

“What I think about is in 20, 30 years when I’m not playing and I’m hearing my kids argue about, they want to compare eras or something, and they’re going over the list of accolades, and they’re telling me right now that this guy (Victor Wembanyama) might have only made All-NBA so many times, but he was ineligible, and they don’t know that, and that could skew it in that way, which I don’t really appreciate in any way,” Haliburton said in an earlier interview.

However, it remains unlikely that Mr. Silver will pay heed to these comments in the near future. He’s maintained his silence over the criticism surrounding this rule for now. But if the noise surrounding this issue continues to grow, he will have no option but to respond.