Adam Silver does not sound ready to bend on the NBA’s 65-game awards threshold. According to Marc Stein’s reporting, the commissioner pushed back against the idea of changing the rule at the league’s most recent Board of Governors meeting, with Stein quoting Silver’s stance in simple terms:
“I think it’s working.”
That position aligns with Silver’s public remarks from late March, when he said the league was not prepared to declare the policy a failure just because it produced hard cases at the margin.
That is the key point here. The criticism around the rule has intensified as stars such as Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham are missing out on awards because of injury-related absences, and the NBPA has pushed for the policy to be abolished or reformed. But Silver’s view, at least for now, appears unchanged: the league believes the rule has helped curb load management and increase player participation, even if it has also created some outcomes that feel unfair in individual cases.
The league is already in an aggressive reform mood on other issues, especially tanking. Silver announced after the March Board of Governors meetings that a special vote would be held in May on lottery reform proposals for the 2026-27 season, which shows the NBA is willing to move quickly when it believes a system needs adjustment. By contrast, the 65-game rule appears to be one area where the commissioner is urging patience rather than retreat.
