65-Game Rule Calamity For Entire NBA? NBA Truth Or Myth

In an effort to ascertain if the patterns are based more on fact or fantasy going future, we will delve deeper into some of the major themes in the NBA each week throughout the 2023–24 season.

Ahead of the regular season’s conclusion in a few weeks, let’s examine the All-NBA landscape and talk about the 65-game rule, which states that players must play in at least 65- game to be eligible for the honor, and the supermax stipulation, which says that players must make All-NBA in order to be eligible for a larger contract.

All-NBA First Team

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (67 of 68 games), Oklahoma City Thunder (48-20, 1st in West)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (65 of 70 games), Milwaukee Bucks (45-25, 2nd in East)
• Luka Dončić (61 of 70 games), Dallas Mavericks (41-29, 6th in West)
• Nikola Jokić (68 of 70 games), Denver Nuggets (49-21, 2nd in West)
• Jayson Tatum (65 of 69 games), Boston Celtics (55-14, 1st in East)

You should probably reconsider your selections if any of these five players, in any order, are not included on your MVP ballot.

This list is unaffected by the 65-game rule. The only player who would have taken on any of these men is Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, the center, who hasn’t played since the end of January.

Nobody in the world would contend for a berth on the All-NBA first team after just 34 games played. Two players have only played fewer than 50 games and made an All-NBA squad in an 82-game season: Scottie Pippen in 1997–98 and Yao Ming in 2006–07. Although both played at least half the season, none made the starting team.

Regardless of a 65-game regulation, injuries would have prevented Embiid from being named an All-NBA player.

With a league-high 2.0 steals per game and an average of 31-6-6 on 54/37/88 shooting splits, 25-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander is dominating the league and propelling one of the league’s youngest lineups into the top spot in the Western Conference. With the East’s second-place squad, Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP who averages a 31-11-6 game on over 60% shooting from the floor.

Dončić, who is also 25 years old, has played for the first team for the past four seasons and leads the NBA in scoring while almost averaging a triple-double (34-9-10). As the No. 2 seed in the West, Jokić is averaging a 26-12-9 on 58/35/83 splits, and he is certainly the three-time defending MVP.

Though there shouldn’t be any arguments, I have heard several disagreements on Tatum’s merit for the fifth position. Tatum is without a doubt the Celtics’ best option, and they have the best record in the NBA by a margin of more than six games. For a team that is on track to win 65 games and record one of the finest net ratings in history, he is averaging a 27-8-5.

Even while Tatum’s numbers are marginally lower than they were during the previous season—the one in which he made his second consecutive appearance on the first team—he is also giving up touches in a starting five that includes four players who are capable of being All-Stars. His game has never been more effective, despite his usage declining.

All-NBA SECOND TEAM

• Jalen Brunson (64 of 69 games), New York Knicks (41-28, 5th in East)
• Anthony Davis (65 of 69 games), Los Angeles Lakers (37-32, 9th in West)
• Kevin Durant (63 of 70 games), Phoenix Suns (41-29, 7th in West)
• Anthony Edwards (66 of 69 games), Minnesota Timberwolves (47-22, 3rd in West)
• Kawhi Leonard (62 of 68 games), Los Angeles Clippers (43-25, 4th in West)

There is a case to be made for multiple third-team players to be taken into account in this situation. (They’ll be addressed.) They are not challenged, I don’t think, by anyone who has previously missed 65-game. (They will also be addressed by us.)

Perhaps Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging a 27-5-6 on 47/37/86 shooting splits for a squad that is still in the running for the East’s second spot. He was forced to miss more than 17 games earlier this month due to a damaged left knee, and he will only be able to play in a maximum of 60 games at this point due to a nasal fracture.

However, the two guards on this list are quite excellent. As the Knicks look to lock up a home playoff slot, Brunson is having a breakout season, averaging a 28-4-6 on 48/40/84 shooting splits. In the absence of injured All-Star teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, Edwards is the greatest player on a team still vying for the No. 1 seed in the West, averaging a 27-5-5 (on 47/37/84 shooting splits) and continuing to rise.

Due to the league’s shift to a position-less structure, we are not restricted to two guards on any All-NBA squad; nonetheless, the backcourt choices on a second team should be heavily stacked. This eliminates the necessity for the 65-game requirement as, in my opinion, no player who has missed more than 80% of a season should be taken into consideration if we are only going to rank the best 15 players from that season in order. If someone had played a larger portion of the season than you, you would need to improve dramatically to catch up.

In any case, I don’t think any of the third team’s guards should be given preference over the three frontcourt players on this list. Davis is playing some of the league’s most influential defense while averaging a 24-12-4 on more than 60% true shooting.

Ranked among the top 15 players in NBA history, Durant averaged a ridiculous 53/42/85 shooting split while finishing 28-7-5. Like Leonard, who won two MVP awards in the Finals and is still among the top two-way players in the NBA, Leonard averages a 24-6-4 on even better 53/42/88 splits for the Clippers, who could win a home playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference.

ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

• Jaylen Brown (62 of 69 games), Boston Celtics (55-14, 1st in East)
• Stephen Curry (62 of 68 games), Golden State Warriors (36-32, 10th in West)
• Tyrese Haliburton (57 of 70 games), Indiana Pacers (39-31, 6th in East)
• LeBron James (60 of 69 games), Los Angeles Lakers (37-32, 9th in West)
• Domantas Sabonis (69 of 69 games), Sacramento Kings (40-29, 8th in West)

First, let’s clear the following: Despite their teams’ fate in the play-in round, Curry and James—two of the best players in history—are having somewhat ordinary individual seasons at a relatively advanced age. Their arguments are more understandable thanks to the sophisticated data, as one manipulates the court to the advantage of his team, while the other interprets the rules like a machine. It is your own risk to argue against either.

After delivering his greatest career season to earn a spot on the second team the previous year, Brown is the second-best player on an all-time great regular-season squad. His willingness to take on the task of guarding the greatest player on the other team and do it at a high level for the NBA’s second-ranked defense outweighs any advanced statistical deterrent. (Although it might be unjust to have two Lakers and one Celtic in a year where one of the rivals has been playing in a higher league than the other, the debate is unnecessary.)

Incredibly efficient (61/41/71), Sabonis averages a triple-double of 20-15-10 (20-14-8) and leads the league in rebounds. Additionally, he has not missed a game for a team attempting to make its first postseason participation in seventeen years. That will easily separate him from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, whose superior stats and 11 absences this season have sapped his defensive edge.

Let’s move on to Haliburton, whose strong start to the season made him a strong candidate for the starting lineup. He missed ten games in January due to an injured left hamstring, and it seems like he is still playing through discomfort. His slump in statistical output was really caused by a left knee bruise that kept him out of action for a game in the middle of December.

• 26-4-12 on 52/44/88 shooting splits before to Haliburton’s first injury
• 17-4-11 on 45/31/84 shooting splits after Haliburton’s initial injury

The other is not an All-NBA player, but the former is. A third team could be selected somewhere in the middle.

That being said, there has been some controversy over Haliburton’s decision to continue working through discomfort. It looks that he is attempting to play 65 games, as failing to do so (and consequently not being selected to the All-NBA team) may cost him more than $40 million during the course of his five-year rookie maximum agreement. To hit the 65-game level, he needs to play eight of his team’s last twelve games. However, he might still be eligible for the larger salary if he chooses to sit out four more games on a club that is still vying for a guaranteed postseason berth.

To put it plainly, I would not deprive Haliburton of $40 million if I had to choose between him and a few other players who are equivalent. But I don’t. Far more problematic than the 65-game regulation, which was approved by the National Basketball Players Association, is this criterion, which compels voters to take into account a player’s future earnings as part of the process, which was set without involvement from the panel.

This is a position-less list of players who might argue with Haliburton, Sabonis, or anyone else you think I left off, with all due respect to DeMar DeRozan (whose most recent under-the-radar campaign is mired on a sub-.500 team), Damian Lillard (who has undoubtedly had his most trying season), Tyrese Maxey (who has returned to Earth in Embiid’s absence), and Jamal Murray (who can barely crack 65 games).

• Bam Adebayo (58 of 69 games), Miami Heat (38-31, 7th in East)

20-11-4 on 52/32/75 shooting splits; 19.7 PER, 5.6 WS, 2.1 BPM, 2.1 VORP, 57.1 TS%

• Devin Booker (56 of 70 games), Phoenix Suns (41-29, 7th in West)

27-5-7 on 49/37/88 shooting splits; 22.1 PER, 7.6 WS, 3.0 BPM, 2.5 VORP, 60.9 TS%

• De’Aaron Fox (61 of 69 games), Sacramento Kings (40-29, 8th in West)

27-4-6 on 47/37/72 shooting splits; 19.9 PER, 5.0 WS, 2.0 BPM, 2.2 VORP, 56.6 TS%

• Paul George (62 of 68 games), Los Angeles Clippers (43-25, 4th in West)

22-5-4 on 47/40/89 shooting splits; 18.8 PER, 5.8 WS, 2.7 BPM, 2.5 VORP, 60.3 TS%

• Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves (47-22, 3rd in West)

14-13-1 on 65/0/65 shooting splits; 18.9 PER, 9.4 WS, 1.7 BPM, 2.0 VORP, 66.7 TS%

• Victor Wembanyama (61 of 69 games), San Antonio Spurs (15-54, 15th in West)

21-10-4 on 46/32/81 shooting splits; 22.6 PER, 2.8 WS, 4.3 BPM, 2.8 VORP, 56.2 TS%

• Zion Williamson (58 of 69 games), New Orleans Pelicans (42-27, 5th in West)

23-6-5 on 58/36/70 shooting splits; 23.2 PER, 6.6 WS, 4.3 BPM, 2.9 VORP, 61.9 TS%

They would all be excellent choices. A fairly straightforward case may also be made against each of them. Insufficiently productive. Insufficiently accessible. Not worthy enough to be a worthy teammate on the periphery of this list. Insufficiently lively. Not strong enough. Not dedicated enough to play 82 games in a season.

The main point is that no one who fell short of reaching 65 games is manifestly more deserved; there are many worthy contenders, including the 15 named above and six to twelve more. By the way, Jimmy Butler, Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Mitchell, Julius Randle, and Towns are all on that list of claims. Who would you cut out to make room for someone else?

Contract terms are significantly more problematic than the 65-game limit, and linking the two is the most absurd part of it all. It is not the voting panel’s fault that the rules were followed; rather, it is the players’ fault that they consented to both. Whichever way we decide to argue Haliburton’s All-NBA case, the $40 million should be more of a talking point than the prospect of him not being able to add an All-NBA selection to his resume because Devin Booker (or whoever) was just as outstanding in a couple more games.

It is a wonderful thing to incentivize players to appear in front of fans who have spent astronomical amounts of money to see them. That was the intention, and it seems to have worked. Aside from Haliburton, but that’s a different tale.

Decision: Made up. The 65-game restriction is acceptable. The issue is with the supermax requirements.

About Author