Once it became clear Joel Embiid’s lateral meniscus injury would require surgery, chatter surrounding the 76ers star quickly shifted from his MVP campaign to the NBA’s 65-game rule.
Particular attention was paid to the role the new rule played in his decision to participate in the 76ers’ Jan. 30 loss at Golden State, where he left the game in considerable pain after Jonathan Kuminga landed on his left knee.
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At his annual State of the Union address, NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the rule, which requires players to log at least 20 minutes in 65 games to be eligible for in-season accolades.
“As you know, a lot of thought went into the 65-game demarcation,” Silver said. “Not only was it collectively bargained with the players, but we spent extensive time leading up to collective bargaining talking to all the various constituencies in the league, most importantly the coaches, the general managers, the individual players, directly. As you built into your question, the notion was we needed to further incentivize players, particularly star players, to play in more games.”
The NBA didn’t arrive at this conclusion over the summer. The league believed it had a problem on its hands as far back as the 2018-19 season when then-Raptors coach Nick Nurse teamed up with Kawhi Leonard to win the NBA title. That season, Leonard played only 60 games, and the term “load management” was introduced as a viable option for stars across the league.
Asked for his opinion on the rule, Leonard, now with the Los Angeles Clippers, said he views the measure as a straightforward one.
“They’re just trying to get players on the court more,” Leonard said, “but like I said before, I didn’t see how the rule was going to make players play if they’re injured. So I don’t know, you have to ask the NBA what it was for. But they just want everybody to play. It’s a business. There’s a lot into it now with gambling and things like that … so they want the best players to play.”
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There has been concern that the rule comes with unintended consequences, as players could be more likely to rush back from injury to remain eligible for major awards, including All-NBA, which is tied to the requirements to land a supermax deal.
Embiid, the league’s reigning MVP, was expected to defend his title. He will no longer have that opportunity after the Sixers announced on Feb. 6 that he will be reevaluated after four weeks and could be out six to eight weeks.
Before All-Star Weekend in Indiana, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton told The Athletic he believed it was “a stupid rule.”
“But this is what the owners want,” Haliburton said, “so as players, we gotta do our job and play in 65 games if we’re able to.”
Haliburton later doubled down on his statement during an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast, where told former Sixer JJ Redick he felt pressure to return from his hamstring injury because of the contract implications.
But with injuries down and players suiting up more, Silver said he’s not willing to say the rule hasn’t worked.
“Whether that’s meaningful data yet? I don’t know,” Silver said. “I think the right time to take a further look at this rule is the end of the season when we at least have a year under our belt.”