Doncic MVP Eligibility: Games Played Rule Under Scrutiny

Close to the first anniversary of his famous arrival in Hollywood, not everything that glitters around the figure of Luka Doncic is gold. Close to turning 27, the Slovenian, the undoubted standard bearer of the Lakers and top scorer in the NBA regular season with an average that exceeds 33 points per game, is very close to encountering a rule that could deprive him of eligibility for the most important individual awards of the championship, that is, the MVP, an award given to the best player of the year; and the All-NBA, a distinction under which the members of the three best quintets of the season are designated.

Included by agreement in the regulations of the best basketball league in the world since 2023, the rule that now threatens Doncic’s prestige is crystal clear: any player must play a minimum of 65 of the 82 games that make up the regular season to qualify for the individual awards that are awarded at the end of the season. Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, promoted the measure with the firm intention of facing the load management (in Spanish, load management), the controversial method by which some of the league’s biggest stars rest in certain games — more than necessary in Silver’s eyes — without apparent injuries or compelling reasons.

This, as is believed in the NBA, harms the attractiveness of the product, not only on a sporting level, but also in terms of audiences, so Silver and his team decided to tackle the problem at its roots: whoever wants to compete for the MVP, the best quintets, the defender of the year and the most improved player in the league, must reach the minimum required. In case of injury, they clarified, the player must play a minimum of 62 games, as long as he has played at least 85% of his team’s duels. Furthermore, to avoid roguery, only one in which the player in question has been on the court for a minimum of 20 minutes will be counted as a match played, although a margin of two appointments is granted in which the bar is lowered to 15 minutes.

As soon as it was implemented, the rule generated an intense debate among players. “It seems like shit to me,” said the always irascible Draymond Green, four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors. And so, in the blink of an eye, the doubts transcended the microphones. After suffering a hamstring strain that same season, Tyrese Haliburton, point guard for the Indiana Pacers, accelerated his return to the courts to meet the minimum number of games required and thus be included in the best quintets of the season, a condition for which he would receive nearly 40 million extra dollars in his next contract. “The rule seems stupid to me,” summarized the North American point guard, who weeks later, already in the decisive stretch of the playoffsand with the minimum of 65 games completed, he suffered an injury to the same area of his leg that forced him to miss the outcome of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.

Now, that same rule affects Doncic, who, yes, will not suffer financial damage along the way, since his contract is insured until 2028. Settled in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James, the Slovenian is an absolute star in the United States, as demonstrated by his popularity ratings: the Lakers jersey with the number 77 on the back was the best-selling in the NBA last season and the former Real Madrid player has also just been the player most voted for by fans for the All-Star which will be held on February 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the Los Angeles Clippers’ pavilion.

Doncic’s presence in the all-star game is assured as a starter. However, his options to compete for the MVP, an award for which he is among the top three favorites, or for the best quintet of the season, a distinction he has already received five times, are seriously in jeopardy. To date, the Slovenian has dressed short in 33 of the 42 games played by his team. To reach the required minimum, Doncic must play at least 32 of the remaining 40 in the regular season. That is to say, you will only be able to lose eight more games, a very reduced number given the rest that franchises usually give their figures before and after the All-Star, as well as in the final stretch of the course, the prelude to the demanding playoffs which start in April.

However, the Slovenian is not the only star in trouble for this reason. Nikola Jokic, three-time league MVP and top favorite for the award this season along with Oklahoma point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is in a very similar situation to Doncic, having played in 32 of the 44 games for his team, the Denver Nuggets. In this way, the Serbian center will only be able to miss five more games before the regular phase concludes in April if he wants to keep intact his options to qualify for the most relevant individual award that the NBA grants each year.