Silver says the NBA’s 65-game policy for awards is motivating players to play more

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — In Adam Silver’s eyes, the NBA’s new 65-game policy is working.

The commissioner said Saturday night at his annual All-Star weekend news conference that he believed league rules, under which players generally must play at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, had Has had its desired impact.

“I can tell you that the number of games players have attended has increased this season,” Silver said. “And the interesting thing is that injuries have actually gone down.”

Some impact has already been made. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid will not win a second consecutive MVP award and his two-year reign as the league scoring champion will also end because he will not play enough games to qualify. If he doesn’t play enough games to qualify for the supermax, Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton’s next contract could be less than $50 million more than he expected — and at his current pace, he’ll be back a bit. Miami’s Jimmy Butler has already missed too many games to be a candidate for the award.

“I don’t like it, how it forces players to play injured to get something done,” Denver center Nikola Jokic said.

The 65-game rule – which was collectively bargained with the NBA Players Association – went into effect this season and determines whether players can win MVP awards, an All-NBA team, Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Like Are eligible for things or not. Defensive team or best player.

Silver said the league, as it does with most new policies, will review it after a year.

“Honestly, I think if you win any type of award, I think you have to play a significant role in the season,” Boston forward Jaylen Brown said. “We have guys who play half a season and win MVP. I’m not a big fan of this. But maybe 65 games might be a little too serious. Maybe they should reduce it to 58 or something like that.

In other news from Silver on Saturday:

G League Ignite, which has struggled this season, may face the most uncertain future.

The program was put in place by the NBA to give players who are not yet eligible for the draft – but who did not want to go to college – the opportunity to essentially play professional basketball and prepare for the draft as part of their development. Was given a chance. Still a competitive program.

But changes in college rules and the allowance of athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness have made the college experience more attractive to those players. And thus, what the NBA thought was lacking in the Team Ignite system is actually no longer lacking.

“We are in the process of reevaluating Team Ignite,” Silver said. “There were some of those same players who didn’t want to be a singles player because they felt it was unfair and they wanted the ability to not only make a living playing basketball but also make business deals that were not available to them . In college… all those same skills are now available to them. So, I’m not sure what the future holds for Team Ignite.”

The NBA will play another regular season game in Paris next season, and there are expectations in France that the San Antonio Spurs – which include France’s Victor Wembanyama – will be in that game.

Silver would not confirm the Spurs’ move to Paris next season, but said the league is still determining what arena to play in when they move there in 2024-25.

“Stay tuned,” Silver said. “In terms of Spurs playing in Paris, I can tell you that Victor Wembanyama… it’s definitely something he would love to see his team play in Paris.”

player-referee relations

There will never be a day when NBA players and referees will stop disagreeing, but Silver acknowledged that there are some tensions in the relationship between the two sides that can be improved.

Players feel that their concerns are not being heard, and teams are quick to criticize when a call is missed.

“I think that’s a real area of ​​focus for us and we’re going to work on it,” Silver said. “It’s easy to say ‘respect for the game.’ I think people recognize that’s how communication works; This is not a normal workplace and we have to take into account the enormous stress they are under. …There should just be a two-way feeling of respect. And so, I am sympathetic to the frustration and feel that this is an area where we can make progress.

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