Adam Silver resists 65-game rule change, probing Leonard

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he is “not ready to support a change” to the 65-game rule that governs eligibility for major individual awards, while also saying an independent investigation involving Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers and the now-bankrupt Aspirati

By the time the NBA Finals tips off, Adam Silver is already navigating two different fights—one about playing time, the other about money.

Speaking before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. the NBA commissioner said he is not backing away from the league’s 65-game rule. an eligibility standard that has been a flashpoint since it took effect in the 2023-24 season. The rule ties participation in roughly 80% of the regular season to eligibility for the NBA’s biggest individual awards.

“I’m frankly not ready to support a change,” Silver said. He pointed back to the league’s last collective bargaining negotiation, when the NBA and the players’ union built the rule and the framework around it.

Silver said about a third of All-NBA players in the seasons leading up to the rule did not play 65 games. He added that the league and the National Basketball Players Association included exceptions for players who fall short by a game or two.

Two exceptions were granted this season. Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic was ruled eligible for awards after missing time around the birth of his child. Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was also approved after suffering a collapsed lung. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards applied for an exception and was denied.

Silver said he still believes the rule is working. “I think the rule is working,” he said, while adding that the league is willing to revisit the issue in bargaining.

The commissioner did leave one opening for a procedural change. When asked whether award winners should be announced at the end of the regular season rather than being doled out across the playoffs, Silver said, “That’s an interesting thought,” before adding: “So we should look at that.”

A separate investigation is moving along a similarly consequential track—just with higher legal stakes and a different kind of timing pressure.

Silver said the independent investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. Kawhi Leonard and the now-bankrupt company Aspiration is close to being finished. The probe was launched in September and centers on a four-year. $28 million endorsement agreement Leonard signed with Aspiration in 2022 through his personal company. KL2 Aspire.

The core allegations trace back to independent journalist Pablo Torre, who alleged Leonard did no promotional work for the company. The claim also extends to how the contract was structured: it was said to be designed so it would void if Leonard left the Clippers.

If the arrangement is found to have been structured as described, it could be treated as salary cap circumvention. Leonard had already signed a four-year, $176 million maximum contract with the Clippers in 2021.

The financial connections run deeper than a single deal. Owner Steve Ballmer personally invested $50 million in Aspiration around the same time the Clippers entered a $300 million sponsorship deal with the company. League rules bar teams and owners from funneling money to players outside the cap.

Ballmer and the Clippers have denied wrongdoing. Ballmer has said he was a victim of fraud by Aspiration’s founders and had no role in the Leonard endorsement deal.

Aspiration’s legal unraveling has also become part of the broader backdrop. Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced Monday to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a related case.

Silver said that neither Torre’s Pulitzer Prize nor Sanberg’s sentencing should determine the outcome of the league’s investigation. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if ultimately I issued a determination based on perception,” Silver said. “My job is to follow the facts.”

The investigation is being run by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Silver said the firm will deliver its findings to him, and he will decide on discipline.

Silver also stressed the importance of finishing soon. “I think we are close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up, because you also need finality,” he said. He added that the team has to know what situation it will operate under, and so do the other 29 teams.

The commissioner’s message, delivered just before the NBA’s biggest games begin, is clear in both directions: the rule for playing time stays put for now, and the question of money in the Leonard case will be decided on what the investigation finds—not on headlines, awards, or sentencing dates.

Adam Silver 65-game rule NBA Finals Jalen Brunson Kawhi Leonard Los Angeles Clippers Aspiration KL2 Aspire Steve Ballmer salary cap wire fraud Wachtell Lipton Rosen Katz