Doncic and Cunningham provided merit awards as Edwards denied in 65-game regulation contest
Both Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham will be eligible for awards after the NBA’s decision
Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham were granted exemptions from the NBA’s 65-game eligibility limit for season-ending awards, after the league and the National Basketball Players Association agreed that both players would be eligible under an exceptional circumstances clause — while Anthony Edwards was denied the same treatment.
The development prompted a rethinking of the rule that has divided opinion throughout the season, with many big names in the league, including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry and Devin Booker, all missing 65 games and completely missing out on consideration for the award.
Doncic and Cunningham Given the Green Light
Doncic played in 64 qualifying games of 20 minutes or more during the regular season, with two missed in December due to the birth of a daughter overseas.
Cunningham, meanwhile, played in 63 games after suffering a collapsed lung in mid-March that sidelined him for 12 games. He appeared in the 64th game but only logged five minutes against Washington on March 17.
Rather than send the cases to arbitration, the NBA and NBPA agreed to suspend the rules against both men.
“The NBA and the NBPA have agreed that, given the full circumstances of Cunningham and Doncic, each player is eligible to receive the awards,” the league and union said in a joint statement.
Doncic expressed his gratitude in a post to X. “I thank the NBPA for representing me and the NBA for its fair decision,” he wrote.
“It was very important to me to be there when my daughter was born in December, and I appreciate Mark, Jeanie, Rob, JJ, and the entire Lakers organization for giving me their full support and allowing me to travel to be there.
“This season has been very special to me because of what my teammates and I have been able to accomplish, and I feel honored to be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards.”
Edward denied
The result was a stark contrast to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played 60 games this season after missing time with an infection.
Edwards tried to challenge the law through arbitration, but the arbitrator denied his case, leaving him ineligible for awards.
This decision received a positive response from his business manager Justin Holland. “Anthony and I are thankful for the PA appealing his case,” Holland said.
“For me personally, I am confused about the sensitivity of Cade who missed the time of what happened in the court, not Ant, who missed the time of infection, but in the end he knows that Ant is not forgotten at all.”
The 65-game limit, introduced in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement to address workload management issues, has been one of the most debated topics for the 2025-26 season.
Victor Wembanyama scored in his 65th penalty shootout of the regular season, while Nikola Jokic didn’t score until the final day.
Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman called for changes. “It’s not the spirit of what that rule is,” he said last week, saying that if a player like Jokic can play 64 games without wanting to go out and miss out on benefits, something has to change.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, however, pushed back. “I think it’s working,” Silver said at a board of governors press conference last month. “About a third of the All-NBA players hadn’t played 80% of the games three years before we adopted this rule. That was a big problem in the league. You see them down now.”
