By Joe Vardon and Sam Amick | The Athletic, 2026-03-24 18:35:32
NBA球员工会（NBPA）正呼吁废除一项他们在三年前达成的规定。该规定要求球员必须在常规赛出战至少65场，才有资格评选包括最有价值球员（MVP）在内的大多数赛季奖项。
工会在周二下午发布的一份声明中，呼吁将“65场规定”予以“废除或改革，以针对严重伤病建立豁免机制”。这一声明与底特律活塞队球星凯德·康宁汉姆 (Cade Cunningham) 因伤缺阵有关。康宁汉姆在上周被诊断出肺萎陷，预计将至少缺席两周的比赛。
现年24岁的康宁汉姆在本赛季入选了全明星，本应是MVP和年度最佳阵容第一阵容的有力竞争者。但他本赛季目前仅出战了61场比赛，这意味着他需要回归并再参加四场常规赛才能获得评奖资格。
目前排名东部第一的活塞队还剩11场比赛。康宁汉姆需要在4月6日前回归，并在从那天起到4月12日常规赛结束前的四场底特律比赛中全部登场。
在提供给 The Athletic 和其他新闻机构的一份声明中，美国国家篮球球员协会（NBPA）的一位发言人表示：
“凯德·康宁汉姆在打出一个职业生涯代表性的赛季后，可能因伤失去季后奖项的评选资格，这是对65场规定最清晰的控诉，也是为什么必须废除或改革该规定以针对重大伤病建立豁免机制的又一例证。自实施以来，已有太多名副其实的球员因这一武断且过于僵化的配额限制，而被不公平地剥夺了赛季末荣誉的评选资格。”
65场规定是在NBA老板与球员工会经过谈判并于2023年达成新的劳资裁定协议（CBA）后，于2023-24赛季开始前生效的。该规定适用于MVP、年度最佳防守球员、最快进步球员，以及年度最佳阵容和年度最佳防守阵容。目前的劳资协议将持续到2029-30赛季。虽然这项规定有可能在此之前发生变动，但这需要资方和球员工会双方均同意重新审议该议题。
目前规定中确实存在一项豁免条款，适用于在遭遇赛季报销级别的伤病前已出战至少62场的球员。但康宁汉姆不符合现有的豁免条件，因为他既差了一场比赛，且预计还会回归。
尽管目前尚不清楚NBA官方如何看待这一问题以及球员工会的公开投诉，但联盟总裁亚当·萧华 (Adam Silver) 很可能会在周三董事会会议后的记者见面会上谈及这一话题。
65场规定可能还会影响更多球员
除了康宁汉姆，这一问题还有可能对本届奖项评选造成剧烈冲击，因为其他几位顶级荣誉的竞争者也面临着失去资格的危险。
- 现任MVP谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 已出战60场。俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的赛程还剩10场。
- 洛杉矶湖人队球星卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Dončić) 同样出战了60场，球队赛程还剩10场。
- 三届MVP尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 所在的丹佛掘金队也剩10场比赛，但他目前仅出战了56场。
- 圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 近期一直在为自己的MVP竞选造势，并被广泛视为年度最佳防守球员的大热门。他需要在马刺队最后10场比赛中出战8场才能获得资格。
- 明尼苏达森林狼队球星安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 目前因膝伤缺阵，仅出战了58场。
- 费城76人队的泰瑞斯·马克西 (Tyrese Maxey) 因手指伤势缺席了球队过去九场比赛，目前仅出战了61场。
- 洛杉矶快船队前锋科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard) 至今仅出战了56场，这意味着他在快船队最后10场比赛中只能再缺席一场，才能保留评奖资格。
即便这些球员最终达到了出战门槛，该规定引发的连锁反应也招致了更多争论。在目前的赛程阶段，一些顶级球队偶尔会为了备战为期两个月的季后赛长跑而轮休核心球员，但由于各项奖项的竞争，球员们现在有强烈的动力坚持出战。
而球员工会显然希望这种艰难的局面能够消失。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：NBPA calls for 'arbitrary' 65-game rule for awards to be 'abolished or reformed'
NBPA calls for ‘arbitrary’ 65-game rule for awards to be ‘abolished or reformed’
The NBA’s players union is calling for the abolishment of a rule it agreed to three years ago that mandates its members play 65 regular-season games to be eligible for most season-long awards, including Most Valuable Player.
The union’s statement, in which it called for the “65-game rule” to be “abolished or reformed to create an exception for serious injuries,” was released Tuesday afternoon and was tied to the ongoing injury-related absence of Detroit star Cade Cunningham, who was diagnosed with a collapsed lung last week and was expected to miss at least two weeks of games.
Cunningham, 24, who was an All-Star this season and would otherwise be a candidate for MVP and All-NBA first team selection, has played just 61 games this season – meaning he would need to return to play four more regular-season games for eligibility.
The Pistons, who are in first place in the East, have 11 games remaining. Cunningham would need to return by April 6 and play in all four of Detroit’s contests from that date through April 12, the end of the regular season.
In a statement provided to The Athletic and other news outlets, a spokeswoman for the National Basketball Players Association said:
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries. Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
The 65-game rule took effect before the 2023-24 season after negotiations between the NBA’s owners and NBPA yielded a new collective bargaining agreement in 2023. It applies to the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards, as well as the All-NBA and All-Defensive team. The CBA runs through the 2029-30 season. It is possible that this rule could be changed before then, but it would require both the owners and the players union agreeing to revisit the issue.
There is an exception for players who’ve played in at least 62 games before suffering a season-ending injury. Cunningham doesn’t qualify for the existing exception because he is both one-game short and expected to return.
While it remains unclear how the NBA sees this issue, and the NBPA’s public complaint, commissioner Adam Silver is likely to address the topic during his session with reporters after Wednesday’s Board of Governors meeting.
The 65-game rule could affect more players, too
Beyond Cunningham, this issue has the potential to wreak havoc on this latest round of awards, as several other contenders for the top honors are in danger of being ineligible.
- Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played in 60 games. The Thunder have 10 games left on the schedule.
- Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić has also played in 60 games, with 10 left on his team’s schedule.
- Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, whose Denver Nuggets also have 10 games left, has played in just 56 games.
- San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, who has been leading his own MVP campaign of late and is widely seen as the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, needs to play in eight of the Spurs’ final 10 games to qualify.
- Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, currently sidelined with a knee injury, has only played in 58 games.
- Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, who has missed the 76ers’ last nine games with a finger injury, has played in just 61 games.
- LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has only played in 56 games so far, meaning he can only miss one of the Clippers’ final 10 games to retain eligibility.
Even if these players ultimately reach the eligibility threshold, there’s a domino effect of the rule that has sparked even more debate. At this time in the schedule, when some top teams occasionally rest their best players in anticipation of a two-month playoff marathon, there is serious incentive on the players’ part to keep pushing to play now because of the various awards competitions.
And the NBPA, quite clearly, wants this difficult dynamic to disappear.
By Joe Vardon and Sam Amick, via The Athletic