“He Doesn’t Care”: Bill Simmons Calls Out Adam Silver Over 82-Game Schedule as Anthony Edwards and Other Stars Go Down

NBA teams have yet to play even 10 games into the 2026-27 season, and many stars have already gotten injured. Guys like Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard, and Ja Morant have been sidelined. This has once again raised the concern of fans and analysts alike regarding the league’s grueling 82-game schedule.

In a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Bill Simmons himself called out NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for being inconsiderate of his players.

"I don’t know how many times I’ve talked about this on the pod, about the schedule, and about how this to me is like just inexcusable and semi-reprehensible," Simmons said on his podcast, video re-uploaded by NBA Central on X. "That whoever is in charge of the league, which I think is Adam Silver these days, that he doesn’t care."

Simmons then broke down the math and explained why Silver and the rest of the NBA executives will still make their money despite reducing the number of games in a season.

"I don’t know, $16 billion in expansion fees that they don’t have to share with players. Just split that in half, that’s 30, $16 billion, that’s going to be $500+ million a year," Simmons added.

"And yet everyone’s like, 'Well, we can’t lose games,'" Simmons continued. "'We lose too much money. We lose revenue.' At some point, you have to look at this holistically and be like, 'Alright well you’re adding these five home games for everybody, but you’re ruining your players and you're making your sport worse, and you're hurting careers and you're shortening careers.'"

As of this writing, Edwards is the star who could potentially face a long absence. He’s predicted to return sometime in December, which hurts the Minnesota Timberwolves. While LaMelo Ball is trying to carry the load, leading the Wolves to a 5-3 record, there’s only so much he can do by himself.

NBA Analyst Explains Why Anthony Edwards Got Surgery Late

Prior to the start of the 2026-27 season, Anthony Edwards had already been dealing with pain in his right knee last season. Having that in mind, many are wondering why it's only now that Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves have decided to address this issue.

ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst shed light on the situation and explained why exactly the procedure on Ant’s right knee was only done this season.

"Why is the surgery happening now?" asked Windhorst. "Number one, he tweaked the knee in Miami on opening night or whatever, the second night of the season. Number two, when they did the MRI on Tuesday, they very clearly saw something they hadn't seen before. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had him in surgery on Thursday. Actions over words."

The good news is that Edwards underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee, and the Timberwolves expect a full recovery. He could be out for up to two months.