The curious case of Cade Cunningham: Why the NBA should kill the 65-game rule
By all accounts, Cunningham has been one of the best players in the NBA this season. Now, he might fall short of being eligible for year-end awards.
In 2006, former NBA commissioner David Stern and the league rolled out new synthetic basketballs that were made with a composite material instead of leather. They didn’t bounce right. They didn’t feel right.
It got so bad that they made the players’ hands bleed. It became a legitimate health concern. Three months later, the NBA reversed course and rolled back the balls.
Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season It’s time for the NBA to do the same with the 65-game rule. It was a foolish idea to begin with, thinking load management was a cause and not a symptom of an increasingly taxing game. It’s time to admit it solved nothing and created more problems than the one it tried to address.
Like the ill-fated synthetic balls, the NBA may have a larger player health concern on its hands. Cade Cunninghim, a top MVP candidate, may no longer be eligible for awards by the time he returns from a collapsed lung. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) Jayden Mack via Getty Images Will Cade Cunningham rush back?
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