Draymond Green delivered one of the sharpest criticisms yet of the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule after news broke that Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham had suffered a collapsed lung. Green argued that the policy is failing in exactly the way critics feared, saying Cunningham could now lose out on All-NBA recognition despite having done “everything right” before an injury no player can control.
Cunningham has played 61 games this season, and the NBA’s current participation rule generally requires players to appear in at least 65 regular-season games to qualify for major awards, including the All-NBA teams.
Green’s frustration lands because Cunningham’s case is precisely the kind of scenario that exposes the tension in the rule. The policy was introduced through the current collective bargaining agreement as part of the league’s effort to curb load management and ensure stars appear more often for fans. In principle, that goal is easy to understand. In practice, however, it can sweep together players resting by choice and players sidelined by legitimate injuries. That is the distinction Green was attacking.
Draymond Green says Cade Cunningham is not going to make All-NBA team because of this dumba** 65-game rule:
“It just doesn’t fix the issue. Like it does not fix the issue at all. And so here’s a guy who’s done everything right, has a collapsed lung, and he’s going to miss… https://t.co/scDpUNm2hS pic.twitter.com/iBis1hsa3u
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 20, 2026
For Cunningham, the timing could not be worse. Detroit has 14 regular-season games remaining, which puts his awards eligibility in real jeopardy even if there is optimism he could return before the playoffs. Because he currently sits at 61 appearances, his path to 65 is still mathematically possible, but far less certain than it was before the injury.
That uncertainty is what gives Green’s comments weight. Cunningham has been one of the defining guards in the league this season, averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds while helping lift Detroit to the top of the Eastern Conference. If a season of that caliber ends without All-NBA consideration because of a medical setback, Green’s argument becomes harder to dismiss as simple player outrage. It becomes a legitimate question about whether the rule is distinguishing between avoidable absences and unavoidable misfortune.
The broader issue is that the rule may be doing two things at once. It may discourage some forms of rest, which was the league’s goal, while also creating harsh collateral damage when injuries strike elite players late in the season. Green’s reaction was blunt, but the underlying point was clear: a policy designed to protect the integrity of awards can also undermine it when one of the league’s best players is pushed to the edge of ineligibility by something as serious as a collapsed lung.
