Los Angeles Lakers player Luka Doncic was ruled eligible for end-of-season NBA awards on April 16, despite not meeting the league’s requirement of playing at least 65 games. The decision came after Doncic and the National Basketball Players Association appealed to the league under the Extraordinary Circumstances clause, as he missed two games earlier in the season to be present in Slovenia for the birth of his second daughter.
Doncic expressed his appreciation following the ruling. “I am grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision. It was so important to me to be present for the birth of my daughter in December and I appreciate Mark, Jeanie, Rob, JJ, and the entire Lakers organization for fully supporting me and…” Doncic said on social media.
The NBA introduced its 65-game rule with an aim to discourage players from sitting out too many games due to rest or load management. However, this rule has faced criticism during this season as several players have narrowly missed qualifying due to injuries or personal reasons. Doncic played in 64 games before receiving his exemption.
A similar exemption was granted by the league to Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham after he played only 63 games because of a collapsed lung that forced him out of action for 12 matches. Despite these exemptions, other prominent players such as Anthony Edwards were denied arbitration attempts while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker and LeBron James remain ineligible after failing to meet the minimum game threshold.
Doncic is now eligible for both MVP consideration and All-NBA team selection. While he is not expected to win MVP honors this year, he is projected as a strong candidate for All-NBA First Team after leading all scorers with an average of 33.5 points per game and ranking third in assists with 8.3 per game.
As postseason play begins, head coach JJ Redick said that both Doncic and Austin Reaves are out indefinitely due to injury concerns.
