NBA 65-game rule: Might it affect Booker and Durant's award possibilities? – The Arizona Republic

ATLANTA – Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid’s newest knee harm has sparked a dialog in regards to the 65-game rule for postseason awards.
Embiid has already missed 13 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 47 video games. He’s main the NBA in scoring, has been the league’s greatest participant this season, however can solely miss 4 extra video games to remain eligible for MVP.
The NBA and NBPA agreed to a rule for the brand new Collective Bargaining Settlement during which a participant should play in at the very least 65 regular-season video games to be eligible for MVP, All-NBA, Defensive Participant of the 12 months, All-Protection and Most Improved Participant of the 12 months awards.
Phoenix Suns All-Stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant will definitely be within the operating for All-NBA. They’re fifth and sixth main scorers within the NBA at 28.4 and 28.3 factors per recreation, respectively.
Their 7-footer teammate, Jusuf Nurkic, thinks Booker and Durant needs to be within the MVP dialog.
“Generally it is simply ridiculous for me that these individuals aren’t there,” Nurkic stated after Wednesday’s win at Brooklyn.
The Suns (28-20) face Atlanta (20-27) at State Farm Enviornment on Friday night time, as they proceed their present street journey.
Booker and Durant have each handled accidents this season which have induced them to overlook video games. So what number of extra video games can every miss to stay eligible for these postseason awards?
Booker has sat 9 of Phoenix’s 48 video games this season. The now four-time All-Star can solely miss eight of the Suns’ remaining 34 video games to stay eligible for these postseason awards.
As for Durant, he’s been sidelined for seven of Phoenix’s 48 video games. A 14-time All-Star, Durant, can solely miss 10 of the Suns’ remaining 34 video games to remain eligible for these particular person honors.
Charles Barkley is saying that is all on the gamers.
“These gamers obtained nobody responsible put themselves,” he stated on TNT NBA Tip-Off this week. “The Participant’s Affiliation signed off on the deal. I assumed it ought to’ve been 70 video games. These guys have put themselves in a state of affairs the place they didn’t respect the sport and began resting and cargo managing and the NBA needed to do one thing.”
Suns:ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins slammed for ‘lazy and wack TV’ Phoenix Suns take
Signed June 28, 2023, by the NBA and NBPA, the brand new CBA took impact July 1, 2023, and can run via the 2029-30 season.
“These followers, man, they’re attending to see these guys one time a 12 months. They’re paying all this cash for tickets and these guys are making $30, $40, $50, $60 million {dollars}, they should play. It’s unlucky what occurred to him (Embiid). I hear all these guys whining about, it’s not truthful, it’s a nasty rule. It’s a good rule for my part. Sixty-five video games? I informed you. I assumed it ought to’ve been 70.”
LeBron James took to Twitter to deal with those that known as for Embiid to play towards two-time MVP Nikola Jokic in Denver. Embiid was a late scratch with left knee soreness.
The NBA fined the 76ers $75,000 for “failing to incorporate Joel Embiid on the workforce’s harm report in an correct and well timed method.”
Philadelphia’s “prior historical past of fines for violating harm reporting guidelines” was factored into the high quality.
Two video games later, Embiid injured the lateral meniscus in his left knee at Golden State as Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga fell on Embiid’s leg.
“The place are all of the media shops, television media personalities, sizzling takes that talked a lot about Joel Embiid about lacking these video games when he knew what he was coping with,” James tweeted Friday.
Embiid missed Thursday’s recreation at Utah and received’t play Saturday towards Brooklyn.
There may be one other a part of the 65-game rule that takes a season-ending harm into consideration.
A participant should play in a minimal of 62 video games, have suffered a “season-ending harm” as outlined by the CBA and performed in at the very least 85% of his workforce’s video games earlier than the harm to be eligible for these awards.
Have opinions in regards to the present state of the Suns? Attain Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Observe him on X, previously Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Assist native journalism. Start your online subscription.

source