The Los Angeles Lakers ‘ Luka Doncic and Detroit Pistons ‘ Cade Cunningham will be eligible for awards such as MVP and All-NBA this season despite falling short of the 65-game minimum, the league and the National Basketball Players Association said Thursday.
Doncic played in 64 games and Cunningham played in 63. But the league and the union both agreed that each should be on the ballot based on the “extraordinary circumstances provision” in the collective bargaining agreement.
Doncic — who is one of the favorites to contend for MVP honors after winning the league’s scoring title — missed two games to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia. Cunningham missed 12 games as a result of a collapsed lung that was diagnosed on March 17.
“The NBA and NBPA agreed that, taking into account the totality of the circumstances for Cunningham and Doncic, each player qualified for awards,” the league and the union said in a statement.
Doncic, in a statement posted to social media, said he is “grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision,” adding that it was important to him “to be present for the birth of my daughter in December.”