Kawhi Leonard Weighs In on 65-Game Rule for NBA Awards, Playing with 'Nagging Pain' in New Video

Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard gave his thoughts Wednesday on the NBA's 65-game requirement to be considered for postseason awards.

Leonard, who has reached the 65-game mark just once in the past nine seasons, applauded the league for incentivizing star players to play, but also expressed his belief that it won't stop legitimately injured players from missing games:

"It's great for the league trying to stop people just from sitting," Leonard said. "But like I said before, I don't think that rule is changing anybody to play if they're really hurt. I don't think it makes sense to just try to go for a game if you're in nagging pain. It's something you're trying to keep under control. It is what it is. The healthiest guys play. That's just how the ball rolls."

Since the 2023-24 season, players have been required to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for awards such as MVP, placing greater emphasis on availability during the era of "load management," as teams try to keep their best players healthy for the playoffs.

There has recently been some pushback on the rule, though, as the National Basketball Players Association released a statement this week in which it called for an amendment since Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham could miss out on All-NBA honors due to being limited to 61 games thus far because of a collapsed lung.

Cunningham was an MVP candidate for much of the season, and he has been far and away the best player on the best team in the Eastern Conference.

When healthy, Leonard has consistently been among the NBA's elite players over the past 15 years, earning seven All-Star selections, two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, two NBA titles and two NBA Finals MVP awards.

However, entering this season, Leonard had appeared in 60 or fewer games in seven of the past eight campaigns, including missing the entire 2021-22 season, and all but 37 games last season.

The 34-year-old veteran has largely been healthy this season, though, and the results have shown up on the court, as his 28.3 points per game represent a career best.

Having appeared in 57 games, Leonard needs to play in eight of the Clippers' final nine games in order to be eligible for postseason awards.

As impressive as his production has been, Leonard is not in the MVP race with the Clippers hovering around a .500 record at 37-36.

Leonard has a strong chance to achieve All-NBA honors, though, which is something he has done only once in the past four seasons.

Even so, there is no guarantee Leonard will hit the threshold since the Clippers may want to play it safe with him down the stretch to ensure he is healthy for the postseason play-in tournament.

That is where the NBA will continue to run into problems, as teams are likely to prioritize the health of their superstars ahead of big games over individual accolades.

Because of that, a 65-game requirement to be eligible for awards isn't enough on its own to stop teams from practicing load management.

Shortening the season or eliminating back-to-backs would likely be much better deterrents, but the NBA is a business, so it is difficult to envision the league and its owners signing off on fewer games, which would mean less revenue.