NBA’s best players are ineligible for major awards because of rule that needs to change

The NBA needs to revisit its rule that players must play in 65 games to be eligible for major awards. 

LeBron James is the latest casualty of the rule, which was intended to encourage players to miss fewer games, but will preclude some of the league’s biggest stars from being eligible for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. 

James missed his 18th game Tuesday because of left foot arthritis, meaning his streak of being named to an All-NBA team for a record 21 straight seasons was snapped. 

He joins stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Austin Reaves and Jalen Williams, among others, in being ineligible for awards this season.

Lots of other stars are on the brink of that fate, too. 

Nikola Jokic, who’s one of the top three contenders for the MVP Award this season, will be ineligible if he misses just two more games. Victor Wembanyama, who’s favored to win Defensive Player of the Year, will be disqualified if he misses four more games. Steph Curry is four games away from being cutoff from all awards, while Kawhi Leonard is right behind him at five games away.

There’s just over 1/3 of the season remaining or between 27 and 30 games for most teams. 

It’s a shame if the MVP Award is won by default. Or if the league’s best defender can’t be honored because he missed a few too many games. Or if players don’t qualify for super-max contracts because they’re not eligible for All-NBA honors. 

The rule was well-intended, but it’s clear it has become more harmful than beneficial. 

CJ McCollum, who served as the President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) from 2021 to 2025, lamented the fact that the rule is putting some of the league’s biggest stars in jeopardy of winning its most prestigious honors. 

“It’s unfortunate,” McCollum told the California Post. “Injuries are a part of the game, but it’s an unfortunate part of the game. So many guys work so hard to put on a show for the fans each night and sometimes there are some injuries that allow for setbacks. But I don’t think the rule was put in place to intentionally hold people back. I think it was put into place to encourage participation throughout the season. But I think that’s something that’s unfortunate that the 65-game rule can determine so much.”

When asked if the rule needs to change, he shrugged. 

“That’s a question for the new regime,” McCollum said of Fred VanVleet, who was elected in July 2025 as his successor. 

Perhaps the league could somehow differentiate between injuries and rest?  Perhaps the threshold should drop from 65? Perhaps third-party medical experts can be brought in to determine if a player is missing time because of a legitimate injury or the dreaded term load management?

Something needs to give. 

Multiple stars around the league have denounced the 65-game rule, including James himself.

“You can’t tell me that Jokic is not All-NBA,” James said on his podcast, “Mind the Game.” “Now all of the sudden because he’s missed 30 games, you can’t tell me he’s not first-team All-NBA. The guy is averaging 29, 13 and 14 or some s— like that. How long do we go with this and how is this going to affect individual guys’ legacies?”

James added that players want to be on the court, but in the modern NBA, soft-tissue injuries, such as calf and hamstring strains have become increasingly prevalent. He said the impact of the 65-game rule could be “catastrophic.”

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“If you have an opportunity to be in a contract year where you can get the super-max or you’re eligible for an extra year and you’re playing exceptional basketball, you’re having a career year and you played 64 games, that could be like catastrophic,” James said on his podcast.

Tyrese Haliburton went through that anxiety himself during the 2023-24 season, when he would’ve missed out on a $41 million addition to his contract if he didn’t make an All-NBA team. Halburton, who qualified for that honor after playing in 69 games at that time, acknowledged he has made his frustrations about that rule clear to NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He added that he believes it will eventually be changed because of Wembanyama, who’s widely considered the future face of the league once James retires.

Wembanyama missed out on any defensive awards last season because of the 65-game rule, and is in real danger of that repeating this time around. 

“To take that away from him or other guys because of health I feel like is incorrect,” Haliburton said on the podcast, “Mind the Game.” “NBA players, we want to play. We don’t want to sit down. We want to play. So, I feel like there has to be a conversation, for sure.”

Many other players have echoed those sentiments, including Draymond Green and Antetokounmpo. “I was all for it because it benefitted me at first,” Antetokounmpo said earlier this season. “But now, as I get older, I’m like, take it off, take it off.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick, however, defended the 65-game rule Tuesday, saying, “I think it’s fine to have some sort of guidance for voters.” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had a similar take, calling being available and pushing through mental and physical hurdles a skill in and of itself, “I don’t know what that threshold should be, but I understand the intention behind the rule,” Johnson said.

Silver is set to address the media Saturday ahead of the All-Star Game in Los Angeles and this will surely be a hot-button topic.

The 65-game rule was put into place ahead of the 2023-24 season to prevent players from sitting out back-to-backs or missing significant time for load management. During the 2024 Finals, Silver pointed out that there was a decrease in injuries to star players that season, adding, “We’re happy with the 65-game rule.”

But two years later, it’ll be interesting to see if that has changed. 

The rule was supposed to benefit fans. 

But now, it means some of the league’s biggest stars are out of contention for the league’s top awards, which makes things less fun for everyone.