Draymond Green Slams NBA for ‘Bullsh*t’ 65-Game Requirement After 76ers Star Joel Embiid Injures Knee: ‘You Got Guys Forcing It to Get Back’

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green believes the injury to 76ers center Joel Embiid was a direct result of the NBA’s new rule requiring players to play at least 65 games to qualify for awards.

After missing the previous three games with knee soreness, Embiid returned to action Tuesday night against the Warriors. Throughout his 30 minutes of playing time, the 29-year-old was visibly hobbled and struggled to get into any kind of scoring rhythm. The bad night got even worse when Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on Embiid’s leg during a play. The center’s knee briefly hyperextended and he stayed on the ground writhing in pain for extended period of time.

So far this season, Embiid has played in 34 of the 76ers’ 46 games, already missing 12, and will likely be sidelined for an extended period of time, thus almost certainly knocking him out of the running for awards.

Per the terms of the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, players can only miss a total of 17 games before becoming ineligible for awards like MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and All-NBA honors. Embiid can only miss five more games this season before facing this fate.

Speaking on his podcast that night, Green thought Embiid forced himself back too soon.

“Joel playing tonight felt very much so because of the 65-game limit,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show, “that we actually talked about once before on the .

“Where I think it’s actually quite bullshit myself is, to incorporate something at this point — a rule like 65 games need to played in order to win an MVP or Defensive Player of the Year [or] All-NBA — guys didn’t face those rules before.”

Green argued that due to the new rule, players will receive awards and honors simply because other more deserving players were ineligible. He recalled the year Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, then a member of a San Antonio Spurs, won Defensive Player of the Year over him after playing just 64 games.

As a result of the rule, he continued, star players like Embiid will return before fully recovering and risk further injury.

“Is that the goal?” Green asked. “Is the goal putting people in harm’s just so they can qualify for an award? Because I don’t think that was the goal. This man’s actually dealing with an injury. So again, because you’re dealing with injuries for stretches of the season, you don’t qualify?

“I don’t know, man. I don’t think it’s right. I think it’s a tough rule to implement because we travel crazy; we play a bunch of games; the speed of the NBA game today is totally different than it ever was before. All of a sudden you’re seeing a lot more hamstring injuries, calf injuries, soft tissue injuries, all these different things… And you got guys forcing it to get back so they can qualify. Because guess what? These awards are very much so attached to the amount of money that you can make.”

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