Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell has shared his thoughts on the NBA’s 65-game rule, joining the discussion around potential changes to the policy.
NBPA Push for Rule Amendment
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is advocating for changes to the 65-game rule. The players’ association agreed to the rule as part of the current agreement between the league and its players. The NBPA wants to see the rule amended, or even abolished.
The association’s call for reform comes as Detroit’s Cade Cunningham faces potential ineligibility for individual honours. Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule. The NBPA believes this is another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries. The union stated that since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honours by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.
Cunningham’s agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, stated that if Cunningham falls just short of an arbitrary games-played threshold due to legitimate injury, it should not disqualify him from recognition he has clearly earned over the course of the season. He added that the league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context and that an exception needs to be made.
Mitchell’s Perspective on Player Injuries
Donovan Mitchell addressed the rule over the weekend, in remarks published by Cleveland.com. He acknowledged the challenges it presents to players. Mitchell said that players get paid money to be out there, but there’s certain things you can’t control.
Mitchell added that it’s not like guys are resting and missing these games and that these are legitimate injuries. He believes it’s something to look at for sure because there’s no way certain guys should be in this scenario.
Impact on Other NBA Stars
A number of players will be ineligible for most major individual awards this season because of the 65-game rule. LeBron James’ 21-year streak of making an All-NBA team will end. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State’s Stephen Curry have also missed too many games to be eligible.
- Nikola Jokic
- Victor Wembanyama
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Luka Doncic
Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, both of whom are MVP contenders, are near the line for ineligibility. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic, the MVP front-runners, can still miss a handful of games and keep their eligibility.
There are some ways a player can be eligible for awards such as MVP, defensive player of the year, All-Defensive teams and All-NBA teams even if falling short of the 65-game number.