{"id":528164,"date":"2026-01-10T23:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T23:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/528164\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T23:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T23:58:14","slug":"nuggets-hc-david-adelman-makes-feelings-clear-on-nbas-65-game-awards-rule-amid-nikola-jokics-waning-mvp-eligibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/528164\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuggets HC David Adelman Makes Feelings Clear on NBA’s 65-Game Awards Rule Amid Nikola Joki\u0107’s Waning MVP Eligibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA<\/a>\u2018s 65-game rule was designed to keep star players on the court for as much time as possible, allowing the league to effectively address the issue of load management.<\/p>\n

But what about the stars who don\u2019t take games off but still suffer injuries like Nikola Joki\u0107? Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reveals his stance on the subject.<\/p>\n

\"Come<\/a>The NBA<\/a> Player Guessing Game allows you to guess the NBA player based on clues about their team, division, height, jersey number, points, and experience.<\/p>\n

David Adelman Critical of NBA\u2019s 65-Game Rule<\/p>\n

The NBA implemented the minimum requirement of 65 games for star players to be eligible for All-NBA teams as well as end-of-regular-season awards. They hoped that taking this action would improve load management and enhance the quality of their on-court product, with stars being more active.<\/p>\n

However, this season has presented the flaws behind the concept. More star players who would be in the All-NBA conversation have suffered significant injuries that would put them out of the running for those selections and awards. Joki\u0107 finds himself at risk after sustaining a hyperextended knee during the Nuggets\u2019 loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 29.<\/p>\n

Even though Denver has stood its ground without their three-time MVP winner, Adelman didn\u2019t hold back his thoughts<\/a> about the 65-game rule after the team\u2019s latest game against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the 65-game rule, but a guy who NEVER misses games for a decade, it bothers me a little bit,\u201d Adelman said during the postgame. \u201cThis is not somebody who sits out. He NEVER sits out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelman\u2019s point does stand, considering that Joki\u0107 has played in 65 or more games throughout every season he\u2019s been with the Nuggets. The most he missed was when he missed 13 games in the 2022-23 campaign, which still would\u2019ve placed him on an All-NBA team and in the MVP conversation if the 65-game rule were in effect.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next on Schedule for Adelman and Nuggets?<\/p>\n

Adelman and the Nuggets will hope for Joki\u0107 to make a full recovery from the knee hyperextension as the team reaches the midway point of the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n

Denver boasts a 25-13 record at the moment, sitting at third place in the Western Conference standings. They are above the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers while trailing the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets will play at home before embarking on a two-game road trip. They host the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET before facing the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET and the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 14 at 9:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NBA\u2018s 65-game rule was designed to keep star players on the court for as much time as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,301,187,3943,6,302],"class_list":{"0":"post-528164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-nuggets","11":"tag-denvernuggets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nuggets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115873520463111816","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}