“MVP hurt because he's forcing it”: Draymond Green points to potential downside of NBA's “bullshit” 65-game rule

Like many fans and players, Draymond Green is unsure of the NBA's 65-game rule for players to be eligible for regular season awards. While the league has implemented the rule to ensure that star players aren't sitting out of nationally televised games, they've also put players between a rock and a hard place.

We saw this week Joel Embiid and Tyrese Haliburton, who are putting up impressive numbers this season, battling injuries. Haliburton has played in 35 of the Pacers' 48 games, while Embiid in 34 of the 76ers' 46 games.

In Embiid and the 76ers' recent clash with Green and the Golden State Warriors, the reigning MVP visibly struggled, going just 5-18 from the floor. Despite what many regard as him getting injured, Embiid has to play 65 games to be eligible for awards.

After the game, Green weighed in on his podcast, going to bat for players like Embiid and Haliburton:

"Joel playing tonight felt very much so because of the 65 game limit, where I think is actually quite bullshit. ... we got one of our premier faces in this league, the MVP of our league, possibly hurt for an extended period of time because he's forcing it."

Draymond Green reflects on losing the Defensive Player of the Year award to Kawhi Leonard

Players and fans' biggest complaint with the new 65-game rule is that players will likely try to force themselves to play through injuries. With awards on the line, players dealing with lingering injuries, like Joel Embiid's case, will play despite being close to 100%.

As Green pointed out, in the past, players who won MVP awards or All-NBA First-Team honors did so regardless of how many games they played. During the previously mentioned episode of The Draymond Green Show, the four-time NBA champ recalled a situation from years back.

At the time, Green was on the short-list for Defensive Player of the Year honors but ultimately lost out on the award to Kawhi Leonard. Under the new guidelines, however, Leonard would have been ineligible to win the award as he played in just 64 games.

"Those same NBA," Green said. "All NBA teams, those same MVP awards list, defensive player of the year, those lists are the same. I once lost a defensive player of the year award to Kawhi Leonard, and I think he played 51 games in turn."