There has recently been discussion in the NBA of a 65-game rule that does not allow players to receive any awards at the end of the season if they do not meet the criteria. Cade Cunningham is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to a bad lung, keeping him from making the All-NBA team despite the season he spent for the Detroit Pistons.
There are some who are in favor of the 65-game rule, while others believe the rule should be stricter. Jaylen Brown believes in the latter, but he also doesn't believe people should back down from the former stance after Cunningham's injury.
"When it first became the 65-game rule, everyone was in support of it," Brown said on his Twitch stream. "At the time, people were talking about people who were load managing, and there were a lot of complaints about load management. There were a lot of complaints about superstars not playing. Now they move the norm to 65, and now it seems like the popular opinion is that it's time to get rid of 65."
Jaylen Brown talks about the 65 Game criteria on his live stream and asks fans to change their opinion on it 👀
"Everyone was supporting it, because people were doing load management, now suddenly people don't want it." pic.twitter.com/98ntmaR023
- 𝓖𝓪𝓮𝓮 🍀 (@gabe_blessed) 25 March 2026
Brown said he wished it were 62 games instead of 65, but he had no problem with the norm.
"It was the opposite of what I thought at first, that guys would play 40 or 50 games and then be drafted to All-NBA teams," Brown said. They'll play half the season, and their numbers will be better because they've only played half the games compared to someone who played 70, 68, or 72 games. That's a big difference."
The rules allow for awards to players who have played most of the season, but it is unfortunate when someone like Cunningham is lost late in the season and does not win the award he deserves. It's uncertain whether the league will make any rule changes, but it wouldn't be a surprise.
