When the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement in 2023, the league made one thing clear: It wanted its stars on the floor. The 65-game rule was supposed to fix what many believed was a growing problem, with players sitting out games to rest. Fans were tired of buying tickets only to see stars sit on the bench. To the casual observer, the solution sounded obvious. If players needed an incentive to stay on the floor, the league could simply tie awards to games played to trust that the problem would solve itself. The thinking was widely embraced at the time, with even commissioner Adam Silver firmly standing behind it.
Three years later, the rule has not delivered on what it promised. Instead, it has distorted the end of the 2025-26 season. Players like Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker have seen their seasons effectively erased from award conversations despite playing a majority of the year at an elite level. A handful of missed games due to injury have now become the difference between being recognized for a great season and being left out entirely. Instead of debating who actually played the best basketball, the conversation has shifted toward who simply met the cutoff.
The core issue is that the premise behind the rule was flawed from the start. Players sitting out was never as black and white as effort or desire. The idea that stars were avoiding games without reason ignores how the modern NBA actually works. Most absences come from injuries, medical caution or long-term health planning. Teams invest millions into their players and rely on medical staff to make decisions. A player missing time is rarely about laziness but rather about preserving their body over the course of a long and strenuous season. By treating all missed games the same, the rule punishes circumstances players cannot control.
That same flaw leads to an even more concerning outcome, as the rule is pushing players toward dangerous decisions. The modern NBA is faster, more spaced out and more physically demanding than ever. Players cover more ground, stop and start more often and place greater stress on their bodies with every possession, yet the 65-game cutoff pressures players to return sooner than they should. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has admitted feeling urgency to come back while dealing with injury because of financial incentives tied to awards. That is not a minor concern; it is a glaring red flag for a system that encourages risk in a league where careers can change with one misstep.
The backlash has been loud and consistent, with players criticizing the rule, agents calling it arbitrary and the National Basketball Players Association pushing for change. Even with that backlash, the rule still has a short list of defenders, the loudest of whom is Silver. Supporters point to a few positives, arguing that games played have increased and that fans now have a better chance of seeing stars on the floor. There is also a case to be made that awards tied to contracts need some level of structure to avoid subjectivity, and on paper, a minimum threshold provides a baseline while removing some of the debate from the process.
However, those benefits fall apart under scrutiny, as the increase in games played is marginal and does not address the root issue of injuries. The structure it creates is rigid and unforgiving, sacrificing context for simplicity while ultimately producing outcomes that undermine the very awards it was meant to protect.
Whether the league wants to admit it or not, the 65-game rule is failing. It does not fix load management, but it does punish injuries, put player health at risk and alter recognition in the process. The NBA does not need a hard cutoff to determine greatness, especially in a sport that is far too complex for a rule that treats every missed game the same. If the league truly wants to protect its players, its history and its product, the path forward is clear: The 65-game rule needs to go, or at the very least be fundamentally reworked before it does more damage.
