DETROIT – The National Basketball Players Association called for the reform or abolition of the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule Tuesday, citing Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham’s potential disqualification from postseason honors. Cunningham is at risk of missing the threshold for awards like the All-NBA team while he recovers from a collapsed lung.
The rule, which was established through collective bargaining between the league and the players’ union, requires athletes to participate in at least 65 games to be eligible for major individual awards. The union described the policy as an “arbitrary and overly rigid quota” that unfairly penalizes deserving players who suffer significant injuries.
Cunningham has appeared in 61 games this season but is currently sidelined while recovering from a collapsed lung. If he misses too many of the remaining games on the schedule, he will fail to reach the 65-game requirement necessary for postseason award consideration. NBA regulations provide a small exception for players who reach 62 games and suffer a season-ending injury, though that provision does not currently apply to Cunningham’s situation.
Jeff Schwartz, Cunningham’s agent at Excel Sports Management, said the league should prioritize on-court performance over rigid attendance quotas. Schwartz emphasized that the guard has performed at an elite level throughout the year. “Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season,” Schwartz said. “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.”
The eligibility rule has already impacted several of the league’s most prominent stars. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is ineligible for an All-NBA team this season, a development that will end his 21-year streak of making the list. Other players who have missed too many games for eligibility include Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State’s Stephen Curry. MVP contenders Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama are also currently near the threshold for ineligibility.
Current MVP front-runners Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic remain eligible for major honors. Both players can still miss a handful of games and maintain their eligibility under the current 65-game threshold.