Players like Cunningham should have award eligibility, NBPA says in push for 65-game rule change

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Detroit guard Cade Cunningham's eligibility for individual honors such as a spot on the All-NBA team is in some doubt because of the 65-game rule for such awards, and the players' association said Tuesday that shouldn't be the case.

The National Basketball Players Association — which, through collective bargaining, agreed to that rule as part of the current agreement between the league and its players — said it, at minimum, wants to see the rule amended.

“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 union said through a spokesperson. “Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”

Cunningham has appeared in 61 games this season. He is expected to miss several more games while recovering from a collapsed lung — and if he misses too many, he'll fall short of the 65-game threshold.

A number of players will be ineligible for most major individual awards this season because of the 65-game rule, including the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James — whose 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 and a slew of other players — including Denver's Nikola Jokic and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, both of whom are MVP contenders — are near the line for ineligibility. The MVP frontrunners, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Lakers' Luka Doncic, can still miss a handful of games and keep their eligibility.

“It’s for the right reasons, but it’s tough,” Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell said over the weekend, in remarks published by cleveland.com about the 65-game rule. “We get paid money to be out there, but there’s certain things you can’t control. It’s not like guys are resting and missing these games. These are legitimate injuries, so it’s something to look at for sure because there’s no way certain guys should be in this scenario."

A slew of others in the NBA have spoken out in recent years in support of the 65-game rule, including some union officials such as Andre Iguodala — the union's executive director — and Boston forward Jaylen Brown.

“I just want guys healthy and on the court too. I guess that’s what the solution is, try to get guys to stay on the court,” Kevin Durant said at the 2024 All-Star Game. “It’s just something we’ve got to deal with. I won’t say I love it or I hate it either, but it’s just something we’ve got to deal with.”

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. Players who appear in 62 games and suffered a season-ending injury can also be eligible, though that would not apply in Cunningham's case.

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