'It Is Working': Adam Silver Defends 65-Game Threshold Despite Recent Criticism

Under Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA has implemented plenty of changes, and like most Commissioners, some of that has been positive, while some hasn't quite resonated with NBA fans. One of the biggest recent changes however was the 65-game minimum threshold that a player needed to meet to qualify for end of year awards and All-NBA and All-Defensive team consideration.

That was brought in to meet the pleas of fans who were sick of seeing players load manage throughout the year, and for the most part, it's worked fantastically. However, the new rule has come under scrutiny in recent times following an injury to Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham, whose season was ended and as of right now, he will not qualify for those awards.

When asked about this, Commissioner Silver was happy to stand by the rule, and won't say the rule doesn't work as a result of one player.

"I'm not ready to say it's not working. It is working... I'm not ready to say because there is a sense of unfairness for one player, that the rule doesn't work."

Obviously, this is a tough break for Cunningham, who was deserving of first-team All-NBA in 2025/26, and while there's a chance the NBA could review this rule, right now, Silver remains confident in his latest move.

Ultimately, Silver was trying to stop load management just like he's trying to combat tanking right now, and while that means there will be plenty of criticism, he's currently full of confidence in the rule.