Cunningham's potential exclusion from awards sparks debate! Players' union calls for revision of 65-game rule, agent also voices concerns

On March 25 Beijing time, the outstanding performance of Pistons guard Cunningham this season may not meet the 65-game award eligibility rule, sparking widespread discussion. The players' union today stated that such situations should not occur and they hope the league will revise this rule.

A union spokesperson stated: "Cunningham is having a career-best season yet may miss postseason awards due to this, clearly highlighting a major flaw of the 65-game rule and demonstrating again that this rule must be abolished or amended with exception clauses for significant injuries. Since its implementation, too many deserving players have been unfairly excluded from end-of-season honors due to this arbitrary, rigid games threshold."

Cunningham has played 61 games so far this season. He is recovering from a pneumothorax injury and is expected to miss several more games; if he misses too many, he will fail to meet the 65-game eligibility line.

Cunningham's agent Schwartz told reporter Shams: "Cunningham's performance this season fully merits First Team All-NBA selection. If he misses the arbitrary games threshold by just a few games due to legitimate injury, he should not be stripped of the recognition earned through his season's actual performance. The league should reward excellence, not ignore real circumstances and rigidly adhere to inflexible thresholds. An exception must be established for this."

This season, multiple star players will miss most major individual awards due to the 65-game rule, including:

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers — his streak of 21 consecutive years being selected to an All-NBA team will end

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors

Another group of players are also nearing the edge of eligibility loss, including MVP favorites: Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs.

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said in an interview over the weekend regarding the 65-game rule: "The rule's intent is good, but it is indeed harsh. We get paid to play games, but some things are uncontrollable. Players aren't deliberately resting and missing games; it's genuine injuries. So this rule really deserves reconsideration; some players shouldn't be in this situation."

Even if failing to meet 65 games, players still have limited pathways to qualify for awards like MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Teams, and All-NBA Teams: players who played 62 games and suffered season-ending injuries can still be eligible, but this does not apply to Cunningham's situation.