Karl-Anthony Towns played in 75 regular season games for the New York Knicks this year – techincally 76 if the NBA Cup Championship is included. The All-Star big man left the NBA's infamous "65-game rule" entirely in the dust, setting himself up to benefit from a system designed to reward availability as an ability.
But after Thursday's news that Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham would be ruled eligible for regular season honors due to "extenuating circumstances," it looks like Towns' availability just might not end up mattering at all.
Towns might be bumped off All-NBA by Doncic, Cunningham appeals
Doncic missed two games because of the birth of his child in a foreign country. Cunningham barely missed the threshold because of a rare injury in a left lung collapse. The league ruled in favor of both players' appeals to lift any restrictions on their eligibility for 2025-26 regular season awards.
Players have to play in 70% of their teams' games, which comes out to 58 in an 82-game season, to qualify for things like the scoring title. Doncic and Cunningham getting clearance to qualify for regular season honors for being just a couple of games short of the 65-game threshold shouldn't be an issue in a vacuum.
But Anthony Edwards, who played in 60 games, saw his appeal get denied on the same day that the Lakers and Pistons stars got the good news regarding their eligibility. It's hard to look at the results of the three appeals and come away thinking that the 65-game rule hasn't been downgraded to a simple suggestion.
It is simply inevitable that the results of those appeals are going to hurt players like Towns, who more than deserve the bonus points they were supposed to be due as a result of clearing the threshold. Jalen Brunson looked set to make the All-NBA Second Team, at least, but now might have to settle for a spot on the third squad.
And Towns, who would likely have been on the Third Team if he made it at all, now has less of a chance than ever.
The 65-game rule gets "New Jersey speed limit" treatment from NBA
The rule's integration into the NBA's yearly award ballots has always been controversial, but it was ultimately voted on and approved to serve as a hard cut-off. A clause was placed in the CBA to allow for extenuating circumstances.
The New York Post's Stefan Bondy asking in the wake of Doncic, Cunningham, and Edwards' appeal rulings how the birth of a child and an injury were deemed "extenuating," though, leaves some interesting questions on the table.
Adam Silver’s 65-game rule is now “You don’t have to get to 65 games, but you have to be close.” https://t.co/R2nDd8pNh0
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) April 16, 2026
Can the Knicks apply for more cap space, citing extenuating circumstances regarding their efforts to manage their books? That would render the league's daunting new second apron as more of a suggestion than a hard limit.
Teams have been awarded cap space and roster spots in the past due to medical and/or hardship exceptions. Will they be able to duck the penalties for exceeding the second apron entirely if they put together a complicated enough appeal?
The NBA is letting some toothpaste out of the tube by clearing both Cunningham and Doncic. It might be hard to get it back in there without abolishing the rule entirely, which might just be what Adam Silver has planned for us next.
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