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The NBA's 65-game participation rule is poised to dramatically reshape the 2025-26 year's end-of-season awards landscape. Several superstar players are on the brink of ineligibility for MVP, All-NBA honors, and other major accolades.
The list of players includes some of the top talents and superstars who are at risk of missing the awards, including Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and more.
Players at risk of missing NBA awards ft Jokic, Wembanyama, Doncic & more
Jokic can miss only one more game before he misses out on the awards. In addition to him, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is on a three-game risk, while San Antonio Spurs superstar Wembanyama will have to give up on the honors if he misses four more games.
On the other hand, Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, who is going through a stunning season, is at risk of five games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander six more, and Anthony Edwards seven more before falling short of the threshold.
Meanwhile, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have already exceeded the allowable absences and are officially ineligible.
Introduced in the 2023 collective bargaining agreement to combat load management and ensure star availability, the rule requires players to appear in at least 65 regular-season games with at least 20 minutes played in 63 of them to qualify for awards like MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and All-NBA or All-Defensive teams.
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