NBA 65 Game Rule Is Ridiculous

There’s no denying that the rule was proposed as a complete overreaction to what the NBA viewed as a threat to the game: load management. Since Greg Popovich made the practice commonplace to preserve his San Antonio Spurs players for deep playoff runs, it has been embraced and implemented by coaches and players on every team. Gone are the days of Michael Jordan (played 80+ games in 11 of 15 seasons), and here to stay are the days of LeBron James (played 80+ games in 3 of 23 seasons).

The league wanted to make sure players weren’t making $50-60 million to play half a season, so they put conditions on the thing that bumps contracts to Max levels (award-based incentives). The truth is, though, that despite players opting for fewer minutes and fewer games to prolong their careers, it wasn’t really affecting awards. The fact of the matter is that only five times in NBA history has a player won MVP playing fewer than 65 games, and four of those were in shortened seasons (strike, lockout, Covid).

Only Bill Walton, in 1977-78, played fewer than 65 games (58) in an 82-game season and won MVP. That season and for years to come, this would be considered a complete farce by fans and many sportswriters. Not only because of the number of games he played, but because statistically, George Gervin was a far better player (27.2ppg to 18.9ppg) on a comparable team (the Blazers were 58-24 and the Spurs were 52-30). Until Steve Nash would rob Kobe Bryant of the award in 2005, Walton’s 1978 MVP was considered the biggest joke in MVP history.

Only five players in NBA history have won Defensive Player of the Year while playing fewer than 65 games (three of those were in full 82-game seasons). Even though Jaren Jackson played just 63 games in 2022-23, when he won the award, nobody who played more games had stats that were even close to his defensively. It was a landslide victory. Rudy Gobert’s award in 2017-18 was a complete embarrassment to the game of basketball. Not only did he play just 56 games, but his defensive numbers were dwarfed by Anthony Davis, who was actually healthy that season (10.7 rebounds per game to 11.1 and 2.3 blocks to 2.6).

End Of My NBA 65 Game Rule Rant (Here’s Why It’s OK)

The Rookie of the Year award has had five winners who played less than 65 games, and three of those were in shortened seasons. In 1962-63, Terry Dischinger won despite playing just 57 games (who can forget that amazing season?), and Brandon Roy won in 2006-07 despite playing just 57 games because he scored 50% more points per game than any other rookie.

It’s a stupid rule. It wasn’t necessary since the world wasn’t witnessing award winners who were load managing. The rule was intended to get the players to actually play, rather than rest, and it’s about to penalize an all-time great player who’s having an all-time great season. The problem the NBA was worried about was nothing more than an illusion, and the creation of this ridiculous rule has created a nightmare of a reality.