NBAPA Wants Change to 65-Game Rule After Cade Cunningham Injury
Cade Cunningham was headed for an All-NBA nod and perhaps an MVP finalist finish before a collapsed lung cost him. He's played 61 games so far, but he may not be back before the playoffs. Ordinarily, that wouldn't matter since he's been so good.
The NBA has a new 65-game minimum for players to receive any sort of honor after the season. If Cunningham were to miss that threshold, he wouldn't make an All-NBA team or be up for MVP. Because of this, the NBAPA is asking the league to consider changing the rule.
NBAPA asks for amendment for Cade Cunningham, others
The NBAPA initially, through collective bargaining, agreed to the NBA's proposed rule that players would only be eligible for awards or accolades if they played 65 games during the season. Now, they'd like to see that rule, at the very least, amended. They might want it to go away entirely.
"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. "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's agent, Jeff Schwartz, echoed this sentiment. "Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season. If he 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. The league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context. An exception needs to be made," Schwartz said.
Tons of players are already ineligible because of the rule. Lakers star LeBron James' 21-year streak of making an All-NBA team is already over. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Warriors guard Stephen Curry are already ineligible, too.
Some, including MVP candidates Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, are barely clinging to eligibility. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was teetering on the edge for a little while, too, putting this rule squarely in the limelight.
Why this rule?
The NBA wanted to combat two things when implementing this rule: tanking and load management. Too many stars, in the eyes of the league, were sitting out to prioritize their long-term health. Teams were also sitting players to rest them for injuries when it benefited them to lose games.
Adam Silver wanted star players on the court, and since All-NBA directly impacts the contracts players can sign, it suddenly became a really big deal to make sure to hit 65 out of the possible 82 games played. This came to a head earlier this year, though.
It appeared as if Cade Cunningham may end up with MVP by default, as Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were in danger of falling under the threshold. That isn't a fear anymore, but it started the conversation.
Now that Cunningham is likely to miss the cutoff, the NBA Players Association is asking for the league to consider using some discretion when it comes to this. It's not as if Cunningham is sitting to rest or the Pistons are tanking. It's a serious injury.
Curious timing
The NBAPA stated that there are numerous reasons for the rule to be adjusted, but they're only making the claim now that Cade Cunningham is at risk. There was chatter when Nikola Jokic went down about it, but no statement like the one above.
Cunningham and Jokic are great, but Jokic is a three-time MVP. It's curious, to say the least, that it's now become a legitimate request to change the rule. Yes, a collapsed lung is perhaps more concerning than a knee injury, but if Cunningham returns for the playoffs, he will miss less time than Jokic did with his knee.
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