How the NBA’s 65-Game Rule Backfired

Photo: Gareth Patterson/AP

It's not a secret. For the last few years, load management has been one of the NBA’s biggest plagues, frustrating realities for fans and players. On one hand, it’s become more and more common to see stars sit out marquee matchups with injuries that, in the eyes of many fans, high schoolers would easily play through. On the flip side, the league has been forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: the 82-game regular season may be taking a real toll on the modern player’s body, with major wear-and-tear injuries piling up and derailing expectations. A change was coming, but it didn't quite go as expected.

In an effort to combat excessive rest while also rewarding A.C. Green availability, the NBA introduced its 65-game minimum rule in 2024, making it the threshold for players to qualify for major regular season awards. After all, 82 games has been the standard since 1967 and our favorite legends managed to meet it without much concern. The hope was that this new rule would push today’s stars closer to that old standard and bring some much needed accountability back to the regular season. Instead, it may have exposed just how broken the situation really is.

At this point, it doesn't really feel fair to frame this as an effort problem, or as proof that today’s NBA players don't care enough to suit up for all 82 games. Instead, what we're seeing now aren't just maintenance nights or routine rest days, but real, serious injuries that demand real recovery time. ACL tears, collapsed lungs, sprained hamstrings, bruised quadriceps, and other legitimate setbacks are taking stars off the floor for weeks or even months at a time. In turn, this made the 65-game rule tricky. It was designed to reward availability, but in practice, it can end up punishing players for circumstances they cannot control. Instead of exposing a lack of toughness, the rule is increasingly exposing just how difficult it has become for even the league’s biggest talents to survive the grind of a full season. Some of the NBA’s brightest names have already fallen short of the mark. And I warn you, the list is long hard to read.

Photo: Chris Gardner/GettyImages

Anthony Edwards, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Cade Cunningham, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and many, many more have already been pushed out of regular-season award consideration by the 65-game requirement, with fourth ranked MVP Luka Doncic likely headed that way as well unless extraordinary circumstances challenge the outcome. These aren't fringe players or glue guys vanishing from the record. These are some of the biggest names in basketball, and when we look back years from now, the history books are going to show brilliant, influential seasons with no official recognition attached to them simply because they fell short of an arbitrary cutoff. The reaction? Overwhelmingly negative. Fans are furious because greatness is going unrecognized, and players are furious because the rule is punishing legitimate injuries instead of actually fixing the problem.

We hear you, Adam. Every NBA season is shaped in some way by major injuries that leave superstars sidelined, franchises shaken up, and fans frustrated. On paper, limiting awards to players who show up night after night sounds like a strong way to encourage availability. After all, if a player has barely been on the floor, how much impact can he really claim compared to someone who answered the bell all season long? The logic makes sense at first glance. But the idea that players are simply choosing not to play through minor injuries clearly does not hold up.

The truth is, your favorite star wants to play — if he physically can. And the idea that players will automatically sit just because they “don’t have to play” ignores what it takes to even reach this level. These are some of the most competitive athletes in the world. You do not make it to the NBA without an obsession to compete, entertain, win, and dominate on the biggest stage possible. These players have devoted their lives, bodies, and minds to the game, so questioning their love for basketball every time injury enters the conversation says more about us as fans than it does about them.

Photo: Reid Jones/Reuters

So the next question os obvious: what is the right way to combat load management? Do you reduce the regular season to 70 games and break a 60-year standard? Do you shorten games from 48 minutes to 40? Do you eliminate back-to-backs for good? Or does recovery need to start somewhere even more practical, like better travel conditions, more rest windows, and maybe even earlier tip-off times to help players sleep and recover? Maybe the answer is not an all-or-nothing award cutoff at all, but a tiered system where games played can still matter without completely erasing a player’s season from award consideration. There are better ways to address the problem. That is the bottom line.

But one thing has already become clear: punishing players for getting hurt was always going to get ugly, and it did. These are athletes who have put years of wear and tear on their bodies, who have trained relentlessly since childhood, and who are no strangers to hard work. But, at the same time, cutting down the season or shortening games risks sending another bad message—that this era of NBA players simply can't handle the same grind as the generations before them. This is a tricky situation for the league. Something has to change, but the 65-game rule does not feel like the right answer. The ball is in Adam Silver and the league office's court: what's the real solution? And more importantly, what do you think is the best way out of this mess?

The 2025-26 NBA season has been a wild ride, and playoffs are right around the corner 🚨 Can't keep up with the games? Be sure to stay tuned into Sportz Nation for your sports updates on all things basketball.

Thanks for reading!

-Joel Piton

(@jpiton7)