With the regular season set to end in a couple of weeks, it is not surprising that one of the biggest point of contentions in NBA circles as of late has been the 65-game rule. The race for most fo the awards remains a heated one, but unfortunately, some untimely circumstances have flicked notable names off the table for those hardwares.
Cade Cunningham is perhaps the best example. Despite leading the Pistons to the best record in the East, he will most likely miss out on an All-NBA berth due to a collapsed lung that could take him out of the commission for the rest of the regular season. As such, there is now growing clamor for the league to abolish the rule — and doing so would benefit Joel Embiid the most.
The 76ers superstar has not played in more than 65 games in a single campaign since the rule got implemented during the 2023-24 season, so it would certainly be favorable to him if the league were to abandon the contentious rule. After all, he is still good enough to be in the race for some awards despite his body slowly failing him.
Joel Embiid will be the biggest beneficiary if the NBA abolishes the 65-game rule
If there is one thing clear about the 76ers this season, it is that they are still home to one of the most dominant players in the league in Embiid. He has been absolutely lethal whenever he is healthy, which only makes it natural that this ball club still cannot figure out a way to string together consecutive wins when he is sidelined.
On the season, he is averaging nearly 27 points per game on more than 50 percent shooting from the field. At his peak, he is still easily the best player on this squad which is a bold statement given the way Tyrese Maxey has played all year long.
Hence, if this 65-game condition to be eligible for awards gets tossed to the side, there is no doubt that Embiid can return to being a frequent customer for those plums. Moving forward, it is likely that he will no longer be able to reach that threshold, so getting rid of it would allow him to still play his normal serving of games without losing ground for some hardwares.
It might not be a priority for the Philadelphia 76ers, but if this rule becomes no more, Joel Embiid will stand to be the biggest beneficiary, which is ironic given that he is one of the main reasons why it was even enacted in the first place.