The NBA’s 65-game rule has hit two of its brightest young stars.
NBA All-Stars Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham will both miss out on the league’s season-long awards, including All-NBA. Edwards was officially deemed ineligible Thursday after missing the Timberwolves’ game against the Pistons with a right knee injury and an illness. Cunningham will miss at least another week due a collapsed lung.
Edwards has played 59 games, but only 58 count towards the 65-game limit due to playing-time requirements within those games. Players must play at least 20 minutes in 63 games and at least 15 minutes in all 65 games. Minnesota has just six games left in the season.
Cunningham has played 61 games. But with the Pistons ruling him out for at least another week, it’s unlikely Cunningham will reach the 65-game threshold as he’s expected to miss at least four of the team’s five remaining games.
Another star was also put at risk of missing the 65-game threshold Thursday.
Lakers guard Luka Dončić exited Thursday’s game against the Thunder with a hamstring injury. Dončić, an MVP candidate, needs to play in just one of the Lakers’ final five games to hit the mark. The team has yet to announce a timeline for his return.
The cases put another spotlight on the NBA’s controversial rule that was first implemented in the 2023–23 season.
Late last month, the NBPA released a statement criticizing the 65-game rule, calling it an “arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” the statement read.
The rule can factor into players’ contracts.
Pistons center Jalen Duren has a better shot of making an All-NBA team with his teammate vacating a slot. If Duren qualifies, he will be eligible for a five-year, $288 million extension—about $49 million morethan if he didn’t make the team.
But NBA commissioner Adam Silver has continued to defend the rule. When asked about it at a press conference after the NBA board of governors meeting, he said he thinks the rule is working.
“We always knew when there’s a line you draw, that somebody’s going to fall on the other side of that line,” Silver said the day after the NBPA released its statement.
“Cade Cunningham is an incredible player. I’m sorry that he’s injured and can’t wait to see him back on the floor, but we also have to remember that to the extent that one player is no longer eligible, some other player will then be All-NBA and will slot into that spot. So I’m not ready to stand here saying I don’t think it’s working. I think it is working.”
