New NBA awards requirements could backfire

The NBA's new CBA requires anyone eligible for major awards to play 65 games. That could seriously backfire on the league.

The league seems increasingly concerned about star players sitting out games to rest or nurse minor injuries. So in an effort to fight "load management," players now can't win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or make an All-NBA team if they played fewer than 65 games.

For MVP, this is a dramatic solution for a problem that doesn't actually exist. Only one MVP in history has ever missed more than 17 games - Bill Walton in 1978. All of the MVP candidates this season have played at least 64 games, and Joel Embiid should finish with at least 65, depending on when Philadelphia clinches the three seed.

Besides, there's always been an easy solution when MVP candidates miss too much time. Voters simply don't vote for them. Embiid finished second in the vote in 2021, despite playing for the first-place 76ers, because he only played 51 games.

While the new rule shouldn't have an impact on the MVP race, it could be huge for All-NBA teams. John Hollinger wrote about how the rule would have impacted last year's teams:

"Last season, such a provision would have knocked LeBron James (third team All-NBA, 56 games), Ja Morant (second team, 57 games) Kevin Durant (second team, 55 games) and Stephen Curry (first team, 64 games) off the All-NBA podium."

All-NBA teams are supposed to reflect who were the best players that season; not who met an arbitrary standard for games. Awards are voted on by basketball experts. Why is the league taking this decision out of their hands?

It also punishes players for getting injured, something that's largely out of their hands. Curry had played 64 out of 70 games last season before he got hurt and missed the last 12 games. Should Curry have gone from first-team All-NBA to completely off the team because Marcus Smart dove into his leg?