Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic appears destined to capture this season’s NBA scoring championship. However, a hamstring injury may prevent him from earning any major league honors.
This unusual situation highlights how the NBA’s 65-game eligibility requirement continues to impact elite players throughout the league.
The list of top-tier players missing out on awards this season keeps expanding, with Doncic now sidelined by a left hamstring problem. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards will also fail to meet the league’s 65-game threshold after being ruled out Thursday due to illness.
Having appeared in just 64 contests, Doncic would miss the cutoff if his hamstring keeps him benched for the season’s final week-plus. Following Thursday’s injury news, BetMGM Sportsbook removed Doncic from their MVP wagering options.
“Health is wealth. … We’ll see what happens,” Lakers star LeBron James said.
Edwards can now participate in a maximum of 64 games, eliminating him from consideration for most significant NBA awards.
The 65-game rule emerged from collective bargaining negotiations between the league and players’ union, now in its third season of implementation.
This requirement affects eligibility for five major honors: MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA Team, and All-Defensive Team. Players must either participate in 65 regular-season games (meeting certain minutes requirements) or play at least 62 games before sustaining a “season-ending injury.”
Even if Doncic’s hamstring sidelines him for the remaining regular season, it wouldn’t qualify as “season-ending” unless a jointly-appointed NBA and players’ association doctor declares him unable to play through May 31.
While grievance procedures and extraordinary circumstance challenges exist, neither option offers easy solutions.
Among the league’s six highest-paid players this season, five won’t qualify for awards: Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Denver’s Nikola Jokic remains the sole exception, though another missed game would likely disqualify him too.
Last season’s award winners included 23 players across MVP, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA, and All-Defense categories. At least 10 are now ineligible: Antetokounmpo, Curry, Edwards, James, Tatum, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Indiana teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac, Utah’s Jaren Jackson Jr., and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams.
Four additional previous winners – Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort, Golden State’s Draymond Green, and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley – haven’t reached 65 games yet but appear likely to qualify.
The players’ union seeks policy modifications, which will certainly arise in future league discussions. However, many players, including players’ association head Andre Iguodala, have endorsed the 65-game requirement.
The league shows little inclination to modify the rule based solely on this season’s unusually high number of disqualified candidates.
“I think it is working,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month. “I think if you look at the numbers, the pre-implementation of this rule, numbers were going in the wrong direction. I may have this a little bit off: I think the three years before we adopted this rule, almost a third of the All-NBA players had not played 80% of the games. That was a huge issue for the league.”
While uncommon, scoring champions missing All-NBA selection has occurred twice previously:
In 1968-69, rookie Elvin Hayes captured the scoring title but failed to make All-NBA or win Rookie of the Year.
During 1975-76, Bob McAdoo earned his third straight scoring championship and finished second in MVP voting but missed All-NBA selection. Players voted for MVP then, with McAdoo narrowly trailing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Dave Cowens placed third in MVP balloting but secured the second-team All-NBA center spot, while Abdul-Jabbar took first-team honors.
Doncic was scheduled for an MRI Friday to assess his hamstring injury’s severity. While his scoring title isn’t mathematically guaranteed, preventing it would require extraordinary circumstances.
Currently averaging 33.5 points per game, Doncic leads Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31.6 average. For last season’s scoring champion Gilgeous-Alexander to overtake Doncic, he would need an incredible finishing stretch. For instance, scoring 292 points across the final five games would give him the lead – a feat only Wilt Chamberlain has accomplished.
Among the previous 79 scoring champions, 64 earned first-team All-NBA honors while 13 made the second team.
Jokic will claim the league’s rebounding and assist titles while averaging another triple-double. However, his award ballot eligibility remains uncertain.
Statistical award thresholds differ from major award requirements.
While major awards mandate 65 games, statistical honors typically require 58 games (70% of the season). Some statistical categories have different standards, including field-goal percentage (300 made shots minimum), free-throw percentage (125 made shots minimum), and three-point percentage (82 made shots minimum).
Players can win statistical awards while appearing in fewer than 58 games.
Last season, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama played only 46 games but still captured the blocked shots title. Even if he had played the minimum 58 games without recording any blocks in those additional 12 contests, he would have maintained his lead over runner-up Walker Kessler of Utah.
