"Load management was not working well" - Adam Silver breaks silence on NBA implementing 65-game rule citing Andre Iguodala role on it

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had a chance to sit down with sports analyst Pat McAfee and discuss the state of the league. During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the topic of the new load management rule was tackled. Silver had a chance to talk about his thoughts on how it's been working for the league.

The new rule under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) states that a player should play a minimum of 65 regular-season games to be eligible for end-of-season awards. Not only that, players should also play a minimum of 20 minutes in all their games played to qualify for NBA awards.

This new rule has helped the league gain more attraction from fans. However, there has been some negative feedback coming from players who want to qualify for awards but have been injured for most of the season. Silver had a chance to talk about how the new rule has been affecting the league in its first season of implementation.

"Generally, it's been positive," Silver said. "Just take the pool of All-Star players. And if you looked at the number of games to date that they have played last season, essentially to the All-Star, and compare it to this season, it's up significantly."

Silver mentioned that he had a chance to talk to former NBA player Andre Iguodala, who was a former head of the Players Association. According to the commissioner, the former Golden State Warriors forward asked him if they should take a closer look at the effects of the new rule.

This came after several All-Star players have missed games due to injury and have a strong case to be given an award. Silver used the situation of Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who has missed 13 games so far this season. However, the commissioner believes that the league should look at the results at the end of the season.

"There wasn't a lot of dispute about the fact that load management was not working well for this league."

Silver stated that they'd done enough research before concluding that the cut-off for NBA awards would be 65 games.

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Adam Silver thanks NBA legend for addressing load management

Since load management became a trend, fan interest around the league has dwindled. Many fans are often disappointed that the players they usually enjoy seeing play end up sitting out a certain game to rest. That practice has long been criticized by fans and former NBA players.

As the problem arose, there were talks that the league should reduce its number of games in a season. Many argued that the long season has affected many negatively and reducing the 82-game season could bring back fan interest and prevent stars from sitting out.

Adam Silver recently said former Detroit Pistons star Joe Dumars has helped the league not reduce the number of games. During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Silver said Dumars constantly reminded the league that the NBA is an 82-game league.

"Pistons great Joe Dumars is the Head of Basketball Operations, and he has so much credibility as a player, and as a GM where he won a championship and I love when I hear Joe say, 'We are an 82-game league.'"

Adam Silver hinted that the NBA won't be reducing the number of games and will continue with 82 games a season, despite the continuous popularity of load management.