The NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule effectively disqualified three more superstars — Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham — from making the All-NBA Teams on Thursday.
While the Lakers‘ Doncic (64 games played) endured a hamstring injury that could cause him to miss the final five games of the regular season, the Timberwolves’ Edwards sat out Thursday’s loss to the Pistons with a lingering knee injury. Edwards (59 games played) can technically still play the final six games to reach the 65-game threshold, but only 58 of his 59 played games count, as he played just three minutes against the Pacers on Oct. 26 before exiting with a hamstring injury. The league will not count that game due to the 20-minute minimum eligibility requirement.
As for Cunningham (61 games played), the Pistons point guard has been ruled out for at least one more week, meaning he won’t be able to play the four more games required to qualify for end-of-season awards.
Possible All-NBA Teams
The omissions of Doncic, Edwards and Cunningham from the All-NBA Teams could open the door for several players to grade up and others to sneak in and make the cut.
The All-NBA First Team was expected to feature Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic. Doncic’s injury could now open the door for Kawhi Leonard or even Jalen Brunson to move to the First Team.
The All-NBA Second Team was expected to include Leonard, Kevin Durant, Brunson, Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell. Now, with “Ant” disqualified, a player like Jalen Johnson (68 games played) becomes a prime candidate to move up the tiers.
The All-NBA Third Team was projected to feature Johnson, Chet Holmgren, Jamal Murray, Tyrese Maxey and Devin Booker. With one or two of those players possibly moving up a tier, the All-NBA Third Team could now open the slot for Scottie Barnes or Jalen Duren to earn a career-first All-NBA nod.
Luka Doncic to Miss All–NBA Second Straight Year
Doncic, who made five straight All-NBA First Teams between 2020 and 2024, had his streak broken last year as he played a combined 50 games for the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers. It would appear the Slovenian could fall victim to the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule again, as he may fall just one game short of qualification.
Unfortunately for Doncic, an exception in the CBA — which allows players who’ve reached 62 games to qualify as long as they got injured after March — won’t apply, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin noted.
“There is an exception for players who reach 62 games and play at least 85% of their team’s games at the time of a season-ending injury, but that would not apply to Doncic. He has played in 64 of the Lakers’ 77 games, which is 83%,” McMenamin reported.
McMenamin also ruled out the possibility of the Lakers applying for a “season-ending injury” exception to try and get Doncic on the All-NBA ballot.
“Furthermore, Doncic’s hamstring injury would have to qualify as a “season-ending injury” as the CBA defines it. That means it would need to be an injury that, in the opinion of a physician jointly selected by the NBA and players’ association, makes it substantially more likely than not that the player would be unable to play through May 31 following the date of his injury.”
There’s still a slim chance that Doncic might return and play in one of the Lakers’ last five games, but sports doctors and analysts don’t expect it to happen.
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