"Eliminate The 65-Game Rule": Chris Broussard Urges Adam Silver To Make An Executive Decision

As load management became more and more of a thing in the NBA, league officials decided to put their foot down and make a key rule change. Since the 2023–⁠24 season, the league has sent a clear message to players: play at least 65 games or fall out of the running for MVP and other major individual awards.

Two seasons later, reactions to this eligibility rule are still mixed. In the case of FS1’s Chris Broussard, this policy has run its course.

“I think [NBA Commissioner Adam Silver] should make an executive decision where he is saying, ‘I am eliminating the 65-game rule,’ and trust the voters,” Broussard said on Wednesday’s edition of “First Things First.”

Helping to illustrate Broussard’s point was a graphic prepared by the FS1 team: images showing top-tier NBA superstars who are in danger of missing out on the award. As of Wednesday morning, here’s where things stood:

Luka Doncic has missed 11 games. He can only afford to miss six more.

Victor Wembanyama sat out 14 contests. He can afford just three more DNPs.

Steph Curry missed 15 games. Just two more.

Nikola Jokic, 16 games. Just a single DNP left.

“I think this is a big problem,” Broussard said. “One of the reasons the rule was put in was load management. None of those guys are load managing. If they can’t be First Team All-NBA, it is going to be a joke.”

Aside from the four megastars, there was one more NBA great on the graphic: LeBron James, who has already missed 18 games this season. For 21 consecutive seasons, LBJ made the All-NBA team; at the midway point of the 2025–⁠26 campaign, James has already been ruled out of winning this honor.

On top of this, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently sustained an abdominal strain that will keep him out of action for quite a while. The time may come when Gilgeous-Alexander joins Jokic, Wembanyama, and Doncic on the list of MVP frontrunners who are in danger of missing out on the award. All because of a league rule that targeted an entirely different issue.